Thailand Vaccination Check List

The recommendations for vaccines vary depending on where you are coming from. Normally the basics for a trip to Koh Tao include Hepatitis A, Typhoid, and ensuring your Tetanus booster is up to date. There are some others to consider though:

Malaria

We are not in a Malaria area, and therefore nobody here takes medication on a long term basis. If you do any trips up to the northernmost area of the country this may change, but here on the Gulf islands there is no need. In all our time on Koh Tao, we’ve never experienced or heard of a case of Malaria being contracted here.

Rabies

Our local animal clinic advises a Rabies vaccination is not required as the island is Rabies free. The Noi Star Foundation Koh Tao Animal Clinic was founded in 2001, and our island vets do a fantastic job of keeping our cats, dogs, birds – and anything else for that matter – healthy and happy. In the highly unlikely event you were to get a dog bite however (just an example, and again we stress a highly unlikely one), you can always get a course of rabies injections after the fact from the local clinic. If you are planning trekking or taking any trips to more rural areas before or after your Koh Tao stay however, then Rabies jabs are recommended.

Hepatitis B

Again, only recommended if you plan on trekking or taking any trips to more rural areas before or after your Koh Tao stay.

Cholera

We drink only bottled or filtered water on Koh Tao, and many brush their teeth with bottled water too. Tap water here is not safe to be used as drinking water, so this is not an option. In general, you can expect a few little stomach upsets to come as part of the Asian travel experience. However as long as you are aware of your options and do not take any unnecessary risks with none filtered water, then there is no reason to expect any more than the usual mild diarrhea from a good old fashioned dose of the ‘Delhi Belly’ from time to time!

Japanese Encephalitis

There has never been a case on Koh Tao to our knowledge, and most medical practitioners only recommend this when travelling to rural areas away from the tourist trail.

Tuberculosis

As above for Japanese Encephalitis

  .Of course there’s a disclaimer!

Please note that the information stated here is from our own experience and recommendations we’ve been given from local doctors, and is very much based on what we’d expect you to need for a trip to Koh Tao only. We’re not saying you don’t need to consider them all, just that there are some for which we’ve never had inoculations, nor are we expected to in order to live here. Always exercise caution however, and be sure to consult your own GP for recommendations specific to you and your trip. Plus, if you are lucky and come from a country with a good health service, you may find many of the above vaccinations are free – so in this case it never hurts to err on the side of caution!