Immunizations

Before traveling to Taiwan, it is advisable to contact the Travel Department at Holy Spirit Hospital, 717-972-4222, locally in the Harrisburg, PA, or the National Center for Disease Control.
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/destinationTaiwan.aspx#notices

Find out at least six months before travel what immunizations are required and what health alerts have been posted. The Holy Spirit Travel Dept. personnel can tell you exactly what you need. Right now I need the Hepatitis A series of 3 vaccines given 2 months apart, Hepatitis B, Dysentery immunization, Tetanus, Japanese Encephalitis and Typhoid. If you get started late on the Hepatitis A series, you may also need to take immune globulin, up to 3 CC's to provide temporary protection. This is serious business. You can become terribly ill, even die from some of these illnesses. I will be taking my series of immunizations on Monday morning. I should have started earlier, but was unaware that I needed shots.

When I traveled to Taiwan in 2000, I did not have any shots, at all, and I was totally unaware of the danger I had placed myself in. You can get any of these illnesses through physical contact, ingesting raw, infected foods, especially when you trek in back-country areas, or frequently eat or drink in settings of poor sanitation. If you start late, you can also take some of the shots in Taiwan. I will be taking the Japanese Encephalitis series of two shots in Taiwan.

One other piece of information is that most insurance companies do not pay for these shots. Travel is considered a luxury. The cost of these immunizations are a hundred dollars or more, in some cases, per immunization. Some side effects may be present.