Hello,

We are moving to Shanghai in the next couple of months. A few of our friends have advised us to get the Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccinations. I went on the internet to read more about the vaccine and got worried about all the side effects. However, I am also concerned about the potentially devastating effects of the virus. Has anyone received the vaccinations? Do you see JE as a real threat in Shanghai? Thanks for your help.

I have this one;so does my wife...
I had no side effects from it other than arm pain after...are these long term effects you are worried about?

I don't think they are necessary for the city, although mosquitoes are plentiful here in summer...but if you go down on a holiday to Vietnam, Laos, etc.. while living here you will be happy to have had this I think...if you have expat insurance of any kind it'll cover the cost (it is expensive for a vaccination!)...Has anyone ever heard of JE in S'hai??? I honestly haven't so I think you can relax...

mariayeh

a few weeks ago, i made an appointment with a paediatrician to see my son and make sure he has all his shots up to date. we've just moved to shang in late april.

the paed did educate me about JE. She said it wouldn't hurt to get a shot for the children (didn't seem too concerned about any side-effects), but advised me not to do it this year, as it's already 'too-late'. i think you're supposed to get the shot at the beginning of spring, as the immunity has to be built up over a period of time. if you came now it's already not effective, so you should wait until next year.
however, she said, it's not like shanghai is a high-risk area, some folks just get the shots as an extra precaution.
we do many other things to keep the mosquitoes out. screens, a/c, citronella candles (not available here! stock up!!) sprays, and most important for the kids: johnson and johnson anti-mosquito lotion, which you can slather on the kids and even yourselves before going to bed.
so far we're doing okay, a few annoying bites but that's all.

Thanks for the feedback so far. Appreciate the tip re: citronella candles. We use Moskigo adhesive patches that seem to be quite effective. Did not see them on the store shelves when we had a quick visit to Shanghai two weekends ago. Will have to stock up.

Get the JE shots, it's not worth taking the risk. JE can be very nasty. Even more important, get your Hepatitis B shots !

We had the Japanese Encephalitis vaccinations - a series of 3 over 30 days, while we were still in the States but we had to have them administered in the hospital ER and we had to wait half an hour afterward before the hospital would release us. The vaccine is mammalian based, the potential for serious side-effects even up to 10 days after the shot are there but weighing the risks of the disease itself we opted for the immunizations. Thankfully all we experienced was some aches which Benedryl solved (a side note they advised us to have on-hand liquid Benedryl/equivalent as liquid is fast acting compared to pills.)
As to the Hepatitis don't forget Hep A as it is more easily contracted through day-to-day happenings than Hep B!
And don't forget to update your polio and tetanus!

HTH

The US Center for Disease Control recommends the vaccinations for Japanese Encephalitis for anyone in an endemic area (most of China) for over 30 days.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/jencephalitis/qa.htm

Good luck!

Risk is a strange business--- there may be only a 1% risk of contracting a certain disease, BUT if you do its 100% for YOU.
The chance of getting J.E. in Shanghai or Beijing is very low, but both cities we have seemn isolated cases. In both recent cases the patient had NOT been to remote areas in rural China.
The immunisation is a real pain as it is 3 shots, but it worth doing.

JE shots as I understand them, is a life time immunity thing (you only do it once....for instance all 3 of my kids had the 3 shots series once.....not to be repeated). Should not make a difference when you get it so why not get it now. It is 1 dose, 1-2 weeks 2nd dose, 3rd dose one year later (between age of 1-3) and then a 4th dose around 5-6 years old (which reminds me that I need to get my kids's 3rd dose soon)

We all had the lot done, including JE and Rabies, TB (I know it's not 100% effective, but if you contract TB it helps stop the spread of the disease to other organs), Tetanus, Hep A and B, Typhoid. It was a nightmare and we all felt like pincushions, but I'm glad we had them. I would never forgive myself if our 3 year old became ill from something she could have been vaccinated against. She coped really well. Few tears at the time (pacified by Chocolate Buttons) and sore legs which eased with Calpol. None of us had any other side effects. Good luck with the move.

Hi HK2ShviaUSA,

Could you advise how much it will charge for every dose as my paediatrician from Hong Kong also advise us to take it at Shanghai instead of HK.

Crystalss

HK2ShviaUSA wrote:JE shots as I understand them, is a life time immunity thing (you only do it once....for instance all 3 of my kids had the 3 shots series once.....not to be repeated). Should not make a difference when you get it so why not get it now. It is 1 dose, 1-2 weeks 2nd dose, 3rd dose one year later (between age of 1-3) and then a 4th dose around 5-6 years old (which reminds me that I need to get my kids's 3rd dose soon)

I just had my third JE shot today. It's quite a hazzle with 3 shots within a month, but my European doctor at Shanghai United Family Hospitals (as well as my doctor at home in Europe) recommended taking it. I would have done it at home, but had no time. However, the vaccinations are international and possible to get here.

I also got my Hep B shot here (KlaxoSmithKline vaccination that they also would have given me at home). Hep A is also recommended even though I hear that there is some discussion about it's real effectiveness. There's also a vaccination that gives protection for both. However, check the antibodies for Hep B some time after you have had the shot as you might need a booster shot if there are not enough antibodies forming in your body. Also if it's been a long time since your shot, the antibody count may become too little and you need a booster in order to really have the protection. This happened to my spouse.

In my country they do not give Polio booster shots anyomore as there is no risk for that in my country, but my doctor here suggested taking it especially if I did any traveling in South East Asia and rural areas. Also a shot for rabies is very much recommended especially for kids, but I have decided to leave it for next spring because I feel like a pincushion already and I try to avoid anything walking on four legs anyway.

But back to the point, there are two kinds of JE vaccinations: the "dead" one and the "live" one. The first one is the one used in Western Countries and needs to be ordered here from Hong Kong. It's quite expensive (over 2000RMB), but I decided to go for that as they would have given me the same shot back at home. The live vaccination is a Chinese product and my doctor said that many times the Chinese doctors suggest this one instead. However, she considers the dead one safer for expats. You make the final call. I have had no side effects other than a sore arm afterwards. We have insurance and direct billing from the hospital, but regardless of that we had to pay the vaccination ourselves since it was ordered from Hong Kong. Then we'll claim it back from my spouce's company or something like that.

I hope this was helpful for you.

Hi Monada,

Thank you so much for your information. I already checked with the other paediatrician (basically, I took JE shots for my son from this doctor). He told me it will charge HK$350.per shot. But the other paediatrician advised me to take the vaccination that's produce from China. He also said that one is much more better than the western one.

But you know, I really don't have confindence in the products from China unless there has no choice.

Crystalss

Monada wrote:I just had my third JE shot today. It's quite a hazzle with 3 shots within a month, but my European doctor at Shanghai United Family Hospitals (as well as my doctor at home in Europe) recommended taking it. I would have done it at home, but had no time. However, the vaccinations are international and possible to get here.

I also got my Hep B shot here (KlaxoSmithKline vaccination that they also would have given me at home). Hep A is also recommended even though I hear that there is some discussion about it's real effectiveness. There's also a vaccination that gives protection for both. However, check the antibodies for Hep B some time after you have had the shot as you might need a booster shot if there are not enough antibodies forming in your body. Also if it's been a long time since your shot, the antibody count may become too little and you need a booster in order to really have the protection. This happened to my spouse.

In my country they do not give Polio booster shots anyomore as there is no risk for that in my country, but my doctor here suggested taking it especially if I did any traveling in South East Asia and rural areas. Also a shot for rabies is very much recommended especially for kids, but I have decided to leave it for next spring because I feel like a pincushion already and I try to avoid anything walking on four legs anyway.

But back to the point, there are two kinds of JE vaccinations: the "dead" one and the "live" one. The first one is the one used in Western Countries and needs to be ordered here from Hong Kong. It's quite expensive (over 2000RMB), but I decided to go for that as they would have given me the same shot back at home. The live vaccination is a Chinese product and my doctor said that many times the Chinese doctors suggest this one instead. However, she considers the dead one safer for expats. You make the final call. I have had no side effects other than a sore arm afterwards. We have insurance and direct billing from the hospital, but regardless of that we had to pay the vaccination ourselves since it was ordered from Hong Kong. Then we'll claim it back from my spouce's company or something like that.

I hope this was helpful for you.