.png)
Unlock exclusive benefits and discounted prices as a Health Klinix member. Find out more.
Travelling to India is both joyous and challenging. When there are so many things to consider, preparation is important and the vaccine requirements for India should be a priority. Of course, it’s difficult to know where to start, but here at Health Klinix, we can complete a careful risk assessment and confirm the vaccines you’ll need for a trip to India. Firstly, you should be up to date with your childhood immunisations which are also important as travel injections for India. For example, you should be up to date with your tetanus jab as tetanus is much more common in India. The injections needed for India can vary depending on your risk exposure. Rabies is common in India, even in urban areas where there are lots of stray dogs. On the other hand, if you’re staying in rural areas near rice paddies where there are pigs and wading birds then you might be at risk of Japanese encephalitis. So as you can see, the innoculations for India really depends on what you do and for how long you stay. To help you, we have created a useful guide to give you an indication of the vaccines needed for India in the table below.
What travel vaccinations do I need for India?
Dr Ravi Gowda, Consultant in Infectious Diseases or one of his highly trained clinical colleagues will be looking after your India vaccine requirements. Find out more about the Health Klinix team.
Who will be providing your travel injections for India?
"India is the rabies capital of the world. Street dogs commonly carry rabies in big cities as well as rural areas. They are responsible for 20,000 human rabies deaths per year in India alone. If you are bitten or scratched by a rabid animal you will need an urgent post -exposure rabies vaccine, as otherwise once symptoms develop it is very serious, and can cause death. Therefore, we recommend protecting yourself from rabies infection with a safe and effective rabies vaccination course."
Dr Gowda's top tip for travel to India
We're a team of trained experts
Experts in Infectious Diseases
and Travel Medicine
Over 21 years of experience in Travel Health
Cared for more than
10,000 patients
Over 150 5 star reviews on Google Reviews
How it works
Frequently asked questions
The total cost is likely to vary depending on which vaccinations you need for your trip. You can see the recommended vaccinations and the price per dose in the table above.
Please note; you will need to book a travel consultation before we can administer travel vaccinations and this costs £30 (1 person).
This will depend on the vaccine as the duration can vary considerably. Have a look at our individual disease pages for more information
4 - 6 weeks but we know this is not always possible. If you’ve booked something late, have a chat with us as it’s still worth having last minute vaccinations.
Side effects from travel vaccinations for India are usually mild and self - limiting and resolve within a day or so. There’s more information in our disease information pages.
We’d advise you not to travel to India if you’re pregnant as there is a risk of Zika virus infection as it can affect the baby.
Yes. Some vaccines will be lower doses while others are age restricted (see our disease pages for more information).
Yes, this isn’t usually a problem, but please contact us to ask any questions.
You’re generally at low risk of malaria in India but there are some regions where there is a high risk and you should take malaria tablets. The high risk malaria areas in India are parts of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and the eastern state of Assam, if you’re visiting these locations you’ll need malaria tablets.
In most other parts of India we would generally not recommend taking malaria tablets. However, you may belong to a vulnerable group or be staying for long periods in rural areas and therefore in some cases we may still recommend you take malaria tablets. For specialist travel health advice call Health Klinix
Recommended malaria tablets for India
Although you may not need malaria tablets in all areas of India, it’s still important that you’re aware of the risk of malaria and that you make sure to avoid mosquito bites by using insect repellent and sleeping under mosquito nets. As we have already discussed, in some cases you might need malaria tablets so we have created a helpful table as a guide (see below) Which malaria tablet for India you need will depend upon your individual circumstances and so please ask us for advice.
Malaria risk map for India
travelhealthpro.org.uk and ACMP
Thankfully you’re not at risk of yellow fever in India as transmission only occurs in two continents; ie Central and South America, and parts of Africa. Take a look at these yellow fever risk areas for more details.
We can think of no other place on earth as enigmatic, frustrating and yet exhilarating as India. The diversity is immense. This ranges from the foothills of the Himalayas, dense jungles secretly hiding the elusive tiger, and the deserts of Rajasthan. In the north, you can visit Varanasi where Hindu pilgrims flock to the Holy Ganges river. In the south, the incense filled , easy going streets of Mysore gives you a completely different perspective to the vast metropolises such as Mumbai and Kolkata. It’s truly an assault on the senses but if it all becomes a bit too much, why not head to the beautiful beaches of Goa or the tranquillity of the Kerala backwaters? One thing is for sure, particularly in India; whatever you do, it’s important that you travel safely and so we recommend you contact us for advice on travel vaccinations for India.
All about India
Additional health advice and risks for India
You may also be at risk of the following diseases:
Although there’s no risk of yellow fever in India, there may still be a vaccine certificate requirement. For yellow fever vaccine certificate requirements we recommend visiting the World Health Ogranization.
India vaccine certificate requirements
Authors:
Dr Ravi Gowda, Consultant in Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine
MBBS, MRCP(UK), DTM&H, MRCGP, DCH, DRCOG, DFFP
Caitlin Lancaster, BSc
Resources: