Dengue and cholera outbreaks bring warnings after 30 die

[chopsticks]

I've never bothered with any of those recommendations and probably most tourists don't either.
If you're going way off the beaten track or hiking then maybe reconsider.
You could also be guided by what the resident population do.

Why not? They don't cost anything, and insurance might not cover you if you are unlucky enough to contract one of those diseases. Personal choice I suppose.

Didn't realise they were free on the NHS, I thought you had to pay up and never knew about using MASTA reports. Enjoy your trip and let us know how you rate the Oman Air experience.

[Big Boy]

The 'recommended' are free. You can be referred as private for the 'to be considered' - then they're expensive.

The Oman experience has been fine so far - once I'd identified the correct contact details

[PeteC]

Dengue can be mild or severe and upon last read there are now six different strains of it. Once you have one type, you can't get it again, but you can get the others.

It's a pretty straight forward and simple blood test with quick results from the hospital lab, no need to send sample elsewhere for testing. I'd be surprised if they made a mistake, but you never really know if something got mixed up I guess.

If he had it, it for sure was the mild version. Glad to see he's ok and up and about again. Pete

[lomuamart]

I think that a lot of us, myself definitely included, get a bit too blase about mosquito borne health hazards.
Malaria - well it's only the female mossie that carries it and the damn thing has pretty well got to bite an infected person straight before it bites you. The chances of contracting it are slim. (A rider here. I'm no doctor, but that's what a lot of people think now).
Dengue? The big, daytime mossies. You can find them at golf courses like Dolphin Bay. There are clouds of them after it's been raining. I get bitten but don't really care. I maybe should.
Other complaints like hepatitus A (and the other strains), cholera and typhoid are normally avoidable these days if you stick to clean food and water. And over the years, Thailand has got much better in that regard.
However, no-one really wants to contract any of the above. I've had hep A from my travels in India years ago. It's not pleasant and will keep you off the beer for quite a while - maybe not a bad thing. I'm immune now, but it was a difficult way to build up that immunity and I'm more careful with ice and water these days.
I wouldn't want any of the other afflictions yet I don't do any preventative medical stuff to help myself.
Again, blase.
However, I do feel that some of the recommendations by the health authorities in the UK, at least, are unwarranted. I always seem to come down with a heavy cold/flu around Christmas time and I'm sure that it's likely to have been caused by visitors here who have brought the strain from overseas. My body simply hasn't built up any tolerance to those bugs.
I'll probably get slated now by members who are more in the know about medical matters, but I just don't see the need for most of these preventative jabs as long as you're in tourist areas. Unfortunate cases like baabaa's child had in Buriram is nevertheless a wake up call.

[yabz]

Chikungunya is now prevalent in Hua Hin. Be very careful and use anti mosquito spray at all times.

[BaaBaa.]

I think that a lot of us, myself definitely included, get a bit too blase about mosquito borne health hazards.

I'm the same, I don't bother with sprays or anything, in fact I've fallen asleep outside pissed a few times and been absolutely savaged.

[lomuamart]

I know the feeling. Can't open the the padlock so I just rest my head down outside until a neighbour rescues me at around 5am.
Not nice, but good neighbours. And I get a good few hour's sleep.

[PeteC]

More on the dengue part. Take precautions as it appears it's going to be a record year. Pete

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/De ... 36421.html

[Dr Mike]

Dengue fever. The old name was Breakbone Fever, because if the extreme pain in the bones.It is caused by a virus and there are 4 subtypes so it is a disease that you can have more than once. In fact the 2nd attack may be worse than the first. It is a different mosquito that carries it than the malaria mosquito. The malaria one bites at night while dengue mosquitoes can bite at any time. Malaria is mainly in rural areas while D can be in the cities.
When you get D the platelet count drops, platelets are essential in the clotting mechanism, they in fact form the clot. If the count goes low the disease has progressed to a more threatening form Dengue Hemmorhagic fever (or Bleeding fever). You can bleed into the skin and into other organs. It can be very dangerous to children and requires hospitalization. Very, very rare for farangs to die from Dengue.