Cholera is a bacterial infection caused by contaminated food or water. Typhoid is also a bacterial infection spread through contaminated food and water, usually caused by poor sanitation and lack of cleanliness such as not washing hands and clothes. Miles Pharmacy offers the typhoid fever vaccination and the cholera vaccination at their travel vaccination clinic in Epsom.

Both cholera and typhoid fever are potentially life-threatening infectious diseases and are usually transmitted through the consumption of food, drink or water that has become contaminated by the faeces or urine of people carrying the pathogen. However, the bacterium that causes each disease is different. Typhoid fever is mainly caused by Salmonella typhi whereas cholera is usually caused by an intestinal infection of the bacterium, Vibrio cholerae.

Both cholera and typhoid appear in low and middle income countries where housing is overcrowded and sanitation is poor, particularly when it comes to a clean water supply. In countries which experience natural disasters like earthquakes or floods, cholera and typhoid will usually become endemic pretty quickly once proper sanitation methods are compromised.

Typhoid Fever Vaccines
Vaccination against typhoid fever is recommended if you are travelling to parts of the world where the disease is endemic.

There are two types of typhoid fever vaccines available in the UK and these are:

• Vi vaccine – one single injection
• Ty21a vaccine – provided as three capsules to take on alternate days

Cholera Vaccination
There are vaccines available to protect against cholera but usually international travel is safe enough if you follow good hygiene protocols. These include:

• Washing your hands regularly with antibacterial handwash or plain soap particularly just before you prepare food or eat and especially after you have been to the toilet
• Only drink bottled water or boiled tap water and use this to clean your teeth
• Do not have ice in your cold drinks
• Avoid eating uncooked fruit and vegetables, salad, seafood and shellfish

Miles Pharmacy offers both the typhoid fever vaccination and the cholera vaccination at their travel vaccination clinic in Epsom. We also offer advice and up-to-date information about good hygiene protocols and staying safe from disease during international travel. To see our full range of services, visit the website  www.milespharmacy.co.uk