Vaccinated...

Since I'm getting ready to travel to India, I went to get checked and fixed at the Capitol GHC clinic (http://www.ghc-hmo.com/), that's the HMO I belong to in Madison, WI. I met with a travel specialist and was given a shpeel about all the bad things that I could catch in India -Malaria, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, traveler's diarrhea, Dengue, TB, Avian influenza H5N1, syphilis...

So I've gotten a few shots:

1- My second and last for Hepatitis A (deeply administered and painful)

2- Japanese encephalitis (I still have to get two more of this one in the next 30 days)

I've also gotten a packet full of helpful notes about what could happen to me and what I should do in each case; prescription medication to prevent Malaria...

And I just couldn't help recall when, much younger, I used to travel from my third world country -Morocco, to other third world countries to surf and such. Then, I never considered taking such precautions as the ones I am taking today -and here I am many years later, still alive and healthy -I knock on wood. And I wonder, is it all necessary?

I guess it's something to think about.

Chao, and be well.