Woman warns of need for travel vaccine awareness
Father’s death prompts call for more knowledge of foreign diseases, protection
An Edmonton woman is warning others about the dangers of travelling to foreign countries without knowing the health risks, two years after her father contracted a virus while abroad, which led to his death.
As a lead-up to World Encephalitis Day on Feb. 20, Jillian Hughes is sharing her experience of dealing with her father’s illness and what she wishes her father would have done so others don’t have to go through the same ordeal she and her family went through.
During a vacation in Thailand in 2016, retired Edmonton firefighter Bill Hughes contracted Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito-borne illness that can result in inflammation of the brain.
The virus, which is often prevented by vaccination, can cause symptoms including headaches, high fever, disorientation, tremors, convulsions and coma.
As soon as Jillian Hughes got the call about her father being sick, she went to Thailand to be with him. After his family raised money to bring him home, and following four months of being in a coma, Bill Hughes succumbed to the virus.
His fatal trip to Thailand was the sixth time he’d travelled to that area of the world.
His daughter said he got vaccinations the first year he visited, but she doesn’t know which ones.
The Japanese encephalitis vaccine, given in two doses, can cost more than $200 per dose, but she doesn’t think that would have been a deterrent for her dad.
“I feel like my dad would have got it if he understood the importance or if a doctor said, ‘Look you need to get this,’” said Hughes. “I wish that he would have got it, I wish that more people would know about it and I wish that the price was lower.”
Hughes said being healthy mattered a lot to her dad.
He often biked, swam, ran and participated in triathlons. She thinks it’s possible he just wasn’t made aware of the need for the vaccine.
“He took his health so seriously, he would have spent that much (money) on vitamins if he wanted to,” she said.
For those wanting to travel, Hughes says it’s important to make sure all the bases are covered and to make an effort to look into any health risks.
She also recommends not travelling alone.
“If my dad was with somebody at the time and not by himself, somebody likely would have noticed that there was something wrong with him,” she said.
Hughes said her dad’s experience hasn’t dissuaded her from travelling.
“I honestly can’t wait to go back to Thailand ... I know that my dad loved it,” she said. “I will absolutely go back, but I will for sure make sure I get every possible vaccination before I go anywhere.”