Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Beijing is a relatively safe city if you're just passing through, and many tourists forgo
vaccinations altogether. As you'll be living here for an extended period, however, you
should see your doctor at least four to six weeks before you leave home to discuss the
current recommendations. If you or your children are already on a schedule of vaccina-
tions, you should be able to continue that here in Beijing. You should, however, check with
your child's new school in Beijing to find out about any particular local requirements. Re-
commended vaccinations for Beijing typically include diphtheria, tetanus, MMR (measles,
mumps, and rubella), varicella (chickenpox), influenza, typhoid, tuberculosis, pneumococ-
cus, and Japanese encephalitis (JE). Whooping cough (pertussis) is making a comeback, so
it's strongly recommended that both adults and children are vaccinated against this. You
may have already been vaccinated against hepatitis B, but you should also be vaccinated
against hepatitis A. Hepatitis A is usually spread by close personal contact or by eating food
or drinking water contaminated by feces, and, unfortunately, hand washing is not always a
high priority for some of those in the local hospitality trade. A malaria vaccination is not
always recommended for Beijing, but it is something to keep in mind should you decide to
take a holiday down south to Yunnan or Hainan.
Another vaccination that should be strongly considered is rabies. Unlike countries such
as New Zealand, the United States, and Australia where rabies just isn't a daily threat, in
China it is a present and serious problem. Country-wide around 3,000 people die of rabies
every year, and though incidences in urban Beijing are comparatively few, they do exist.
There have been cases where expats have died after contracting the disease. All it takes is
a bite or lick on an open wound from an infected animal, and then if no medical action is
taken before symptoms begin to show in the person, the disease is 100 percent fatal. If you
or your child is bitten by an animal, it's vital that you seek immediate medical treatment.
If you had already been vaccinated prior to the infection, the treatment would be relatively
simple. If you hadn't been vaccinated but receive immediate treatment before symptoms
appear there is also a relatively successful post-exposure prophylaxis treatment, involving
an injection of rabies immune globulin and several injections of rabies vaccine given over
a 28-day period. The problem is that not only is this treatment expensive, it may also not be
in ready supply in Beijing, and you may need to be evacuated to a place that has a supply
of the rabies immune globulin. Much cheaper and more reliable is the pre-exposure vaccin-
