Last year we were all advised to have hep A which we did, followed by a booster this year. When the children were having this the nurse called me back and heavily recommended they have typhoid, as although rarely contracted, was a possibility. I booked for the children to have this based on her recommendation but the appointment was with a different nurse who said they probably wouldn't need it so there you are, no two opinions are the same even by healthcare professionals in the same practice. In the event I opted to have them done as 'better safe than sorry' is my motto, coupled with the fact that none of them bother about needles much.

These were the two we had as well pamplemousse. My understanding is the same as Briars in so far as Turkey is not a malerial zone, so there is no need for anit-malerial drugs. I think it's still prefereable for people to get advice from their GP or GP Surgery's Nurse as the advice on immunisation is subject to change, or they might be contraindicated in some way that we don't know about when they post.

According to my practice nurse the Turks do not apparently contract typhoid as they are used to the condition of the food and water, but we can, rarely be suseptible, hence my kids had theirs yesterday. All are as right as rain and they last for about 3 years. It was left to me if they had it, my advice was to have it if 'I couldn't guarantee the cleanliness of the food and drink' well I can't so I did! They have to be given within 2-4 weeks of travel we were advised.

They had their Hep A last year and a booster this. Again, the practice nurse it wasn't a bad thing for them to have given the seas over here!

Hi, my partner and I are going to Turkey for the third time in July. We have never had any jabs. We now have a one year old son and I was told by a friend of mine that he needed jabs so I rang the doctor to check and she said that he was too young for the jabs. But as long as we be careful with water and stuff then he should be fine, so depending on the age of your children they might be too young. Hope this helps.

I would agree with pamplemousse, I have been to Marmaris twenty odd times since 1996 and would not consider going without my jabs. The chances of contracting any of these things is very minimal but I am not a rich person, if my wife or I contracted one of these diseases and we had not had the jabs, our insurance company would obviously decline to pay up. If you can afford to pay for your hospital treatment then it doesn't matter, if however you are in the same boat as us then take your jabs and don't risk it. We have had every jab needed and will continue to do so. If you have an insurance company that says you don't need them, please pass their name to me lol, I havn't had one yet. Much better safe than sorry.

Jim.

After my original question( Do you still need jabs for Turkey?) i phoned the gp on monday and asked the question there are 5 of us going including 3 kids 9 7 & 15mnths.. was told we needed Hep A & a booster also said i should have got these 4 weeks ago..but we will still be covered to travel on 23rd june.

Looks like were getting the jabs after all!

Hi mamajama

I though I responded to your original query on 2nd April and said that the required immunisations for Turkey were Typhoid and Hep A. Plus the DTP that we need for this cpountry (or I could be going round the bend as per normal and didn't reply at all)

I had double checked with my GP as I am going to Lykia in a few weeks and wanted to make sure kids, DH and I were still covered. I'm hoping that by having had Hep A it might give us a little bit of added protection from the problems there at the moment. As I think it might generally boost your immune system as well, she says hopefully.

Doe

Hi Doe

Maybe you did reply..i couldnt be bothered going through al the posts again as most people said check with gp.

Anyway after hearing about the sickness probs i dont want to take any chances and also i would take allergic reactions to mozzie bites( well equipped with my Avon sss spray and it now half price).

Roll on Turkey ..

Good Luck. Have a brilliant holiday and don't forget to pop a report in the hotel review section of HT on Lykia World for all of us who are going after you.

The jabs really were 'something and nothing' took about two mins & I would think must be so much better than getting Typhoid & Hep A, which are very debilitating illnesses, or Tetnus which at the end of the day is a killer, wheather you get it in Turkey, here or anywhere else in the world for that matter.

Take care.

Doe

been 14 times to turkey in the last 7 years never had any jabs been fine, i think it is if you r going to a really rural area, my son who is 15 had to have 5 stiches last year as he slipped in the turkish bath on his chin it was a very deep cut but the doctors there where great, no scar now very good tight stiches, but he is having his school leavers jab next week which does have tetnus included which is good, i also want to say the turkish massage hotel had a doctor there within 10 mins and when took him to get the cut sewn up straight away cost us 100 pds but money doesnt matter in these matters stef

Personally I would rather be safe than sorry and we have always gone for the jabs before visiting Turkey. Should you contract an illness your insurance may refuse to pay out if you didn't get the recommended jabs.

You don't need to go off the beaten track to contract some of these illnesses. The Chief Accountant at work contracted hepatitis on a football trip to Europe and spent may weeks off work. My GP happens to be a personal friend of his and she told me that after that happened she took the vaccines home and inoculated her family as she hadn't considered it previously.

luci

Well 5 of us paraded in to get jabs today.. was told told get another 6-12months from now and that would do us 25years.

The need for jabs doesn't really matter if you are travelling to a resort or 'really rural areas'.

It is common knowledge anyway that most people working in the resorts travel in for the holiday season from the 'really rural areas' in the first place and most of these infections are passed person to person.

Also as Luci's example shows you can catch things in built up areas anyway.

Therefore, it's a complete rubbish to say you only need them if you go off the beaten track, and lulling people into a false sense of security.

Glad it went OK mamajama i was told my Hep A would last for 25 years as well. Also it doesn't just cover you for Turkey, it covers you for loads of other Countrys as well.

Just checked this week with our GP, our Typhoid jab we had in August 2002 runs out this August so going for a renewal. Had a HEP A booster in 2003 so now covered for I think 20 years.

Dave

Trouble is we all think we should go with out gp's recomendations... but alot of the gp's opinions differ.... so why should we feel safe with their recommenadation?

When you're talking about food and waterborne diseases, then unless you're going to live in a sterlie bubble, you risk it without vaccination. There're enough bacterial problems you can pick up that you can't vaccinate against without risking the more serious ones that you can vaccinate against. What price your health?

Common ways to pick up Hep A include eating foods that grow close to the ground such as strawberries and lettuce. Crustaceans which feed at the bottom of the ocean can concentrate the virus and be a risk if ingested under-cooked or raw. people preparing food who are excreting hepatitis A virus can contaminate foods if they do not observe proper hygiene. Who knows who's handling your food, even in a top-class hotel? And what if you like eating outside your hotel in different environments? I certainly do that, and would rather be protected.

Advice/guidance may change over time (what was advice 6 months ago may be different now), and may well depend on area, but I would always check with my GP. I'd err on the side of caution knowing I'm eating all over the place wherever I go. And if I get vaccinations for one place, they're going to cover me for other travels too.

daft question maybe....how do you know the injection has made you produce anti bodies.....?

i have had the MMR jab.....i know work in the NHS and had to have bood tests.......i have no immunity.....

i had the course of hep injections.......no immunity.......had another 2 courses..........still no immunity.......

had another MMR jab.........still no immunity.....

the doc, just says, its one of those things and this is quite common....

i also phoned our gp practise to ask, and was told, no, they were not needed.......

so i am just as confused as before.......but my personal opinion is, it cant do any harm to have the jabs.....

ndshelton wrote:

Trouble is we all think we should go with out gp's recomendations... but alot of the gp's opinions differ.... so why should we feel safe with their recommenadation?

I know various GP's advice can differ slightly, but I would rather take their advice (7 years of training and constant updates from medical journals informed by medical research) than a poster on a web site who says

"Well I went without jabs and didn't catch anything." doh!

The system ain't perfect, what is? But it's the best we got. The way this country's going we will all soon be paying for these. (like the way kids braces have gone, wait for two years or pay 2K if you want them when the kid actually needs them )

I would say get them while they are still free (or almost free).

Oh & I also think it is still the most responsible thing to do as well.

Free? since when? i just paid the price of 2 prescriptions 13.70 yesterday!

Doe Where did you get that info?.. maybe we were charged in error..