Travel Health Practitioner Pty Ltd

23/07/2025

Rabies 🐕 🦇 🐵 Do you know what to do if you get bitten by a mammal when overseas?

Indonesia’s holiday hotspot Bali has warned tourists of the risks of rabies after cases have been identified.

Speak with Travel Health Practitioner to discuss pre exposure rabies vaccines and steps to take if you get bitten.

Make an appointment through the HotDoc app, emailing catherine@travelhealthpractitioner.com.au or phoning 0431388742.

03/07/2025

Lyssavirus (‘rabies-like infection’)🦇

Sadden to hear the Australian man who contracted lyssavirus after he was bitten by a bat has died.

Lyssavirus is transmitted from infected bats to humans when the virus in bat saliva enters the body through a bat bite or scratch.

The virus has been found in species of flying foxes, fruit bats and insect-eating microbats in Australia.

Symptoms include paralysis, delirium, convulsions and death.

While it is extremely rare to see a case of Australian bat lyssavirus, there is no effective treatment for it.

‘NSW Health reminds the community to avoid touching or handling bats, as any bat in Australia could carry lyssavirus.’

If you receive a bite or scratch from a bat, you must immediately wash the wound with soap and water for 15 minutes and apply an antiseptic, such as betadine. You will then require treatment immediately with rabies immunoglobulin and rabies vaccines.

Anyone working with bats should be vaccinated with the rabies vaccines 💉

02/07/2025

Mosquito fogging Indonesian style 🦟

02/07/2025

Before travelling research local healthcare….have a contingency plan….just in case 🤕

At Travel Health Practitioner we can advise on certain hospitals and clinics to use overseas ✈️

We recently reviewed and recommend BIMC hospitals in Bali 🏝️

25/06/2025

It has been a busy 6 months for Travel Health Practitioner so we are taking a well earned rest 😴

Appointments can still be made using the Hot Doc app. The clinic will reopen on Monday 14th July.

23/06/2025

If you are travelling via Dubai or Doha please expect delays, possible cancellations or diversion of flights. Check with your airline prior to departure, ensure you have adequate travel insurance and if you are on medication please pack extra ✈️

Global airlines have suspended or reduced flights in the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Iran rages after the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites at the weekend.

21/06/2025

The Travel Bug will be out and about in the Barossa this weekend! Give us a toot and a 👋 if you see us 🐞 🌎 ✈️

20/06/2025

It may have taken a few years, letters to the local MP and Health Minister and even a quiet chat last week with Professor Michael Kidd, the Chief Medical Officer…… but Travel Health Practitioner can now stock and administer covid boosters from the 1st July ……. Good to see, on this occasion, politics have been taken out of healthcare 👏👏💉💉

18/06/2025

The mid-year travel season can be busy as winter hits Australia, and many Aussies travel to escape the cold whether it’s a trip to Southeast Asia or to Europe for summer fun.

Here is some advice to help keep you walking on sunshine during your winter escape ☀️✈️ 🤩

Before you go

🧐 Do your research - Prevention is the best defence. Know what you might face and plan accordingly. Understand the local laws and culture.

🧑‍💼 Get comprehensive travel insurance - Sometimes things don’t go to plan, no matter how prepared you are. Buy insurance as soon as you book travel to cover yourself against cancellations.

👩‍⚕️ Talk to Travel Health Practitioner - We will advise you on all your travel health needs, including any recommended travel vaccinations and much more!

🛂 Organise your passport and visas - You can’t travel without them!

🍾 Party safely - Spiking, through drinks or needles, is a risk. Tourists, especially women, may be targeted by criminals. Drunk and disorientated travellers are targets for criminals. Especially for robbery and assault. Before you go, know the symptoms of drink spiking and methanol poisoning.

🧳 Look after your belongings - Losing belongings like your passport, wallet or phone or having them stolen can quickly turn a holiday stressful. Take precautions to protect your valuables while you’re travelling.

⛑️ Look after yourself - Don’t lower your safety standards just because you’re on holiday.

Happy and safe travelling from Travel Health Practitioner!

For immunisations and travel health advice, make an appointment through the HotDoc app, emailing catherine@travelhealthpractitioner.com.au or phoning 0431388742

08/06/2025

Looking forward to presenting at the 9th Annual Immunisation Forum (AIF) hybrid event which will take place at the Adelaide Convention Centre in Adelaide on June 13, 2025, immediately following the PHAA’s Communicable Diseases & Immunisation Conference (CDIC).

The meeting is ideal for GPs, practice nurses, specialists, pharmacists and other immunisation specialists. The program covers the following topics: a look into aged care, new vaccines for the elderly, adjuvanted vaccines, vaccinations in primary care and pharmacy, managing vaccine hesitancy, targeting at-risk populations and addressing the vaccine gap of first nations peoples.

30/05/2025

29/05/2025

When vaccination rates drop, so does the invisible shield that protects communities from disease. In Australia, that shield is showing cracks.

For the first time since 2014, fewer than 90% of two-year-olds are fully vaccinated, according to the latest data from the Australian Immunisation Register.

The fact that childhood immunisations are dipping below the rate needed to protect the whole population is a warning sign that preventable diseases like measles could make a comeback.

Diseases like measles and rubella could roar back as vaccine protection slips.