City Doc

If you’ve never heard of Japanese encephalitis, it’s time to book an appointment at one of City Docs travel clinics in London and across the country.

When you go to a travel clinic for your vaccinations, it’s likely that you consider well-known diseases and viruses such as malaria or yellow fever, but Japanese encephalitis? And yet Japanese encephalitis is prevalent in large areas of Asia. A travel clinic will inform you whether you are at risk and whether you should take a vaccine. In countries such as Japan, Thailand and Korea, child vaccination programmes are routine against the disease.

Travel Clinic can Advise on Risks

Like malaria, Japanese encephalitis is caused by a mosquito bite. In most cases, the virus can create a flu-like illness, but in chronic cases it can lead to inflammation of the brain, resulting in permanent brain damage. The high mortality rate in chronic cases means it’s crucial you ask at your travel clinic if you are concerned you are entering an at-risk country. Serious symptoms of Japanese encephalitis include headaches, fever, impaired consciousness or coma.

Vaccines are Available

Japanese encephalitis is part of the yellow fever and dengue family of viruses. Japanese encephalitis attacks the central nervous system, although only about 1% of people who come into contact with the virus develop visible signs. A travel clinic will advise you on the vaccination, and whether you should be taking it depending on where you travel. There are other viruses in the Japanese encephalitis family that are similar but are found in other parts of the world, such as Russian Spring Summer flaviviruses and St Louis flaviviruses – if you are concerned about these, talk to your travel clinic – there are vaccines available.

Travel Clinic: Seek Advice before you Travel

It’s thought that those more at risk of catching Japanese encephalitis are in areas where it is more endemic such as in the slums of cities and in the countryside – this is because infected mosquitoes spread the disease; it is often found in pigs and birds that commonly host the virus.

Your travel clinic will inform you of the areas where you may be at risk, but Japanese encephalitis is widespread in South East Asia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, China and Indonesia. Those travelling to the Beijing Olympics this year might want to consider booking an appointment at their nearest travel clinic. According to the World Health Organisation, 50,000 serious cases a year are reported in Asia with 10,000 dying as a result of the disease.

As your travel clinic will tell you, a vaccination is recommended if you are spending three to four weeks in a region where the disease is prevalent.

Choose CityDoc for all your Travel Clinic needs

At CityDoc, you can book over the phone or walk into one of our travel clinics for a same-day appointment. Don’t travel abroad without ensuring that you’ve had the right vaccinations. CityDoc provides a complete travel clinic service, customized to your individual needs. Our pre-travel consultations are with experienced General Practitioners who will assess the impact of any pre-existing chronic medical conditions on your vaccine requirements. We have the full range of travel vaccines in stock including rarer vaccines such as Japanese Encephalitis. CityDoc is a registered yellow fever centre and is able to dispense anti-malarials directly from our in house pharmacy for your added convenience. Choose from our three London travel clinics and Birmingham travel clinics for ease of access.