The Ultimate India Travel Guide: 5 Things a Liverpool Pharmacist Wants You to Know Before You Fly

**1. Typhoid matters more here than almost anywhere.**

South Asia carries a large share of the world's typhoid burden, and India is where we most consistently recommend it. It's a single injection giving around three years of protection, so it's the easiest recommendation on this page to act on.

It's worth saying plainly: typhoid vaccine is not complete protection. Food and water care still matters. But given the burden in the region, it belongs on almost every India itinerary, including short business trips.

**2. Visiting family is a different trip — and it's the one most often under-protected.**

This is the pattern we see most. Travellers who grew up in the UK, going back to family homes for four to six weeks, staying with relatives rather than in hotels, eating as the household eats, spending time in villages, around animals, in the monsoon. On paper it's "India". In practice it carries more exposure than most tourist itineraries — and because it's familiar, it often gets less preparation, not more.

If that's your trip, say so at the consultation. It changes the conversation about hepatitis A, typhoid, rabies and, for longer rural stays, Japanese encephalitis.

**3. The yellow fever certificate rule catches people out.**

India does not have yellow fever. But India requires proof of yellow fever vaccination from travellers arriving from, or transiting for more than 12 hours through, a country with a risk of yellow fever transmission — much of sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South America. Without it, travellers can face quarantine on arrival.

So if your route goes via Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Lagos or São Paulo, or you're coming to India after a trip to those regions, this applies to you. Tell us your full routing, not just your final destination.

Yellow fever vaccination and the international certificate can only be issued by a NaTHNaC-designated Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre. We will tell you straight if that's what you need and point you to the register of designated centres — it's not something to leave to the airport.

**4. Rabies risk in India is real, and dogs are the main source.**

India accounts for a substantial proportion of global rabies deaths, and dog bites are the dominant route. Pre-exposure vaccination doesn't make you immune, but it removes the need for rabies immunoglobulin after a bite — which in practice is the hardest part of post-exposure treatment to access quickly — and reduces the follow-up to two doses.

We recommend considering it particularly for longer stays, rural travel, cycling or running, and for children, who are bitten more often and are less likely to report a minor bite. It's a three-dose course with an accelerated option.

**5. Malaria and Japanese encephalitis are region-and-season questions, not country questions.**

Neither is a blanket India recommendation. Malaria risk varies substantially by state, altitude and season, and the recommendation ranges from bite avoidance alone to full chemoprophylaxis depending on where you're going. Japanese encephalitis is a rural and monsoon-season risk, concentrated in particular regions, and is relevant mainly for longer stays or agricultural exposure.

Both are worked out from your actual route and dates. If you're told "you need malaria tablets for India" without being asked which states and which month, you haven't had a risk assessment.

**The practical bit**

Come in 4–6 weeks ahead if you can — rabies and Japanese encephalitis are courses, and if the yellow fever certificate rule applies to you, you'll need time to get to a designated centre. Bring your full routing including transits, your states and dates, and any old vaccination records. Because our clinic is run by an Independent Prescriber, malaria prevention tablets are assessed, prescribed and dispensed in the same visit.

This guide is written and reviewed by the pharmacists who run the clinic, against current NaTHNaC and UKHSA Green Book guidance. It is general information, not a personal recommendation — your own risk assessment happens at the consultation.

Guidance we work from

Frequently Asked Questions