Western Mongolia - Mongolia - page 558

IN MONGOLIA
Availability & Cost of Health Care
Advice Health care is readily available in Ulaanbaatar, but choose your hospital and doc-
tor carefully. Ordinary Mongolians won't know the best place to go, but a reputable travel
agency or top-end hotel might. The best advice will come from your embassy.
Cost Consultations cost around US$5, although SOS Medica ( Click here ) , a reliable clinic
in Ulaanbaatar with Western doctors, charges around US$195.
Medication Most basic drugs are available without a prescription.
Regional areas Health services in the countryside are generally poor but improving in
some aimag capitals. Taking very small children to the countryside is therefore risky.
Women's health Female travellers will need to take pads and tampons with them, as
these won't be available outside the main cities.
Infectious Diseases
Brucellosis
» The most likely way for humans to contract this disease is by drinking unboiled milk or
eating homemade cheese. People with open cuts on their hands who handle freshly killed
meat can also be infected.
» In humans, brucellosis causes severe headaches, joint and muscle pains, fever and fa-
tigue. There may be diarrhoea and, later, constipation.
» The onset of the symptoms can occur from five days to several months after exposure,
with the average time being two weeks.
» Most patients recover in two or three weeks, but people can get chronic brucellosis,
which recurs sporadically for months or years and can cause long-term health problems.
Fatalities are rare but possible.
» Brucellosis is a serious disease and requires blood tests to make the diagnosis. If you
think you may have contracted the disease, seek medical attention, preferably outside
Mongolia.