Korean Job Discussion Forums

[fred zepplin]

Is it necessary or advisable to get any form of vaccinations before arriving in Korea. I recently mentioned to my doctor I was moving to Korea and he advised me to get 2 vaccinations, one was for hepatitis, can't remember the other. He checked it online, I know he's not the kind of guy just trying to screw me. Any experience or thoughts on the subject

[pangaea]

You need to have your Hepatitis vaccinations, including the series of 3 shots which I think is for Hepatitis B. I think a vaccination for Japanese encephalitis is recommended but not necessary. I don't know many people who have had that one. I checked into it, but it was very expensive and only available in a city 3 hours away from me, so I never got it. Other than that, you should make sure your childhood immunizations are up to date, of course. I can't think of any other vaccines you would need. I don't remember getting anything special before coming over.

[schwa]

Vaccinations are up to you. None are officially required.

[ED209]

Hepatitis B is high in South Korea. If you can't finish the vaccinations at home you can get them here.

You may also want to consider getting a flu vaccine in Sep/Oct if you're working with snotty little ones.

[DorkothyParker]

I haven't had any vaccination/shot since I was 8 and moved to America (1991). Being in Korea won't really increase your chance of catching something compared to back home, I don't think.

[L&MaC's]

http://english.yongsan.go.kr/pms/contents/contents.do?contseqn=886&sitecdv=S0001501&menucdv=03100000&decorator=user15En

I asked my doctor in Korea if Japanese encephalitis is necessary - he said that despite the name (Japanese) it only affected people who traveled to South-East Asia. (not Japan or Korea)

[Hindsight]

[grandpa]

[Hindsight]

[Devil's Harvest]

While I would never discourage anyone from getting a vaccine if they have a mind to do so, don't be overly paranoid about picking up horrible diseases in Asia, or in Korea in particular.

Vaccinating against Hep A and B is a good idea, but don't panic if you don't get it done, or are leery of vaccinations in general.

Hep A can be contracted through contaminated food and water, which is possible (but still unlikely) in Korea, but more of a risk in SE Asia. It has flu-like symptoms which show up a few weeks after infection, but it will simply run its course in nearly all people, conferring immunity to any subsequent infection. Only those with already compromised immune systems are at risk of complications from Hep A.

Hep B, which is more dangerous, is contracted through contact with bodily fluids, much the same as HIV. Unless you plan on riding bare-back through the alleys of Itaewon, Hep B is entirely preventable without a vaccination, and likely the least of your worries if you wake up next to a stranger after a "special night" with no wrinkled-up jimmy on the floor. Hep B can be chronic is a very small percentage of cases (less than 1%), leading to complications and possible permanent liver damage. However, most people just feel like crap for a couple of weeks, and then their bodies fight off the Hep B, conferring life-long immunity afterward.

There is a misconception in the west that Hepatitis A and especially type B are extremely dangerous (Hep C is very dangerous). Studies show that upwards of 70% of Asians have been exposed to Hep A and/or B. If it were really so deadly, there wouldn't be 4 billion people on this continent. However I have a friend who caught Hep A while traveling in Vietnam. Symptoms didn't show up until his first week back in Korea. He felt awful for a few days, but it cleared itself up. Doctors just have him some stuff to help him keep food down, and told him to rest. Sucks to get sick, no need to start writing out your will if you pick up Hep A or B.

The Japanese encephalitis vaccine is certainly a good idea if you plan on spending a good amount of time in SE Asia. Don't worry about malaria pills unless you plan on trekking through the darkest jungles. The pills can really mess you up, and are completely unnecessary if you are going for a fun holiday, and not a hard core eco-adventure.

Bottom line: vaccinations are good, but if you are hesitant about getting the shots, understand that your chances of being splattered all over the road by a bus in Korea are a thousand times higher than being killed by a disease. And there are so far no vaccinations against buses that I know of.

[grandpa]

[Devil's Harvest]

[interestedinhanguk]

I've only ever heard of Japanese Encephalitis vaccines being recommended if you're going to spend extensive amounts of time out in the rice paddies of SE Asia. Outside of that, there is little risk. I went on a 3-month trip there and the doctor insisted I didn't need it.

[earthquakez]

I agree with Grandpa in principal.

I understand that certain diseases have been eradicated in our countries (or were until relatively recently because Asians, Africans and other people who weren't around in great numbers until the last few decades have brought back those diseases - just stating a fact especially in relation to an upsurge in diseases such as TB in the UK from people coming from African and Asian countries) because of vaccinations.

However, in the case of influenza of any kind, it is not the best idea to vaccinate en masse. Flu vaccinations have all sorts of things you'd never dream they contained - like the 'swine flu' vaccination which in most countries including Korea was not trialled properly and included cancer cells from mice. Flu would not be an issue in developed countries if there did not exist the widespread over prescription of antibiotics which simply means flu strains mutate in response and get stronger.

If people in normal health develop their immunity to flu by not taking strong stuff like antibiotics, there will be few problems or no cause for the panic that accompanied the 'swine flu epidemic'. I haven't had any form of the flu since I was 16 and that's largely because I do not take antibiotics for anything unless there is a genuine infection that can't be cleared up without them such as when I developed blood poisoning one time in Taiwan.

I let coughs, colds and chest infections take care of themselves. They always go away soon because I have developed my immunity through strictly limiting medication of any kind. I have never caught flu back home in the UK and I didn't during the swine flu panic.

In fact Tamiflu was around well before the recent swine flu outbreaks and I believe its use and overuse, especially in Japan, has contributed to flu spreading and mutating.

It's also significant that Dick Cheney and co from George Bush's govt had heavy investments in the companies that made and distributed Tamiflu, and the huge piles of unused Tamiflu sitting around various countries had to be used up so there was also pressure to take medication like that as well as have swine flu vaccinations despite the main version not being properly trialled in a number of countries.

[Sam Lowry]