Travel health clinic now open in Whanganui

Travel health specialist nurse Claire Wong (left) vaccinates traveller Lynda Aplin in the Worldwise clinic in Whanganui.

Claire Wong has 20 years of specialist experience in travel health and she's now dispensing advice and vaccinations to Whanganui travellers.

Mrs Wong is a registered nurse with a master's degree in international travel health. She is one of 10 New Zealand practitioners with a certificate in travel health from the International Society of Travel Medicine.

Originally from the United Kingdom, Mrs Wong emigrated to New Zealand in 2013. She now lives in Marton and runs the Worldwise Travellers Health and Vaccination Centre clinic in Whanganui. The Whanganui clinic opened in September as a branch of the Palmerston North clinic which has been operating since 2009.

"A nurse in Palmerston North identified that quite a lot of travellers from Whanganui were coming to our Palmerston North clinic for advice so it was decided to hold a clinic in Whanganui on Wednesday mornings and Friday afternoons," Mrs Wong said.

"We provide all travel health advice and vaccines, including the yellow fever vaccine which can only be given at clinics authorised by the Ministry of Health. We also provide malaria tablets and medical first aid kits as well as travel accessories.

"We are a supportive role to GPs and in Palmerston North GPs often refer their patients to us for specialist travel advice.

"Travel medicine is a distinct specialist area and we are able to spend time with travellers to discuss their individual needs. We keep up to date in terms of safety and security risks and disease outbreaks. We find out where people are going, what activities they are planning and have the resources to provide specific advice on what vaccinations are recommended for them.

"We can provide very individualised advice and we also look at pre-existing medical conditions that may require additional advice."

The clinic deals with all types of travel including holiday, business, humanitarian work and school trips.

Some of the more interesting clients Mrs Wong has seen include people travelling to Cambodia for humanitarian work, to Indonesia to study insects and to Brazil for an extreme marathon through the Amazon.

Mrs Wong says many travellers to the Pacific region do not seek medical advice but she cautions that there are various medical issues in the region. The current mumps outbreak in New Zealand is related to people travelling to Fiji and Tonga. Mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue fever, are common in the Pacific region.

"The main reason for people to contact us is to get vaccinations but we recommend that people seek travel advice and never leave home without travel insurance."

Worldwise was established in Auckland in 1996 and has clinics in Auckland, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Nelson and Christchurch.

The Palmerston North clinic books appointments for the Whanganui clinic, phone (06) 353 7310 or email palmerston.north@worldwise.co.nz, or people can request an appointment through the Worldwise website www.worldwise.co.nz