Posts Tagged ‘Vaccinations’

Vaccination Recommendations for Travelers

Friday, February 5th, 2010 by Frank Gillingham, MD

In a recent Wall Street Journal post, Avoiding Illness on the Road, Dr. Phyllis Kozarsky, a travel health expert for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), offered some good advice for travelers, particularly business travelers. 

In this piece Dr. Kozrsky correctly to advises those who are travelling overseas to get immunized, even if coincident with departure.  However, nascent travelers should be aware that protection is not immediate. In the case of the hepatitis A and B vaccines, for instance, full immunity cannot be guaranteed for everyone who receives the vaccine for at least one month.  Long lasting immunity requires a second vaccination anywhere from one month to one year after the first. 

According to the CDC, the only vaccine that is required by international health regulations is yellow fever for those travelling to sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America. The CDC recommends that this vaccine be obtained at least ten days prior to arriving in an area where yellow fever is endemic.  In addition, the vaccine must be administered at an approved center that can provide the vaccinee an authentic “International Certificate of Vaccination”.  The yellow fever vaccine must be repeated at ten year intervals to remain effective.

Meningitis vaccinations are required in for those travelling to the “meningitis belt” across the middle of the African continent and parts of Saudi Arabia.  The vaccine provides protective antibodies after a week to ten days, with immunization lasting only three to five years.  There are vaccines for encephalitis, an infection of the brain, which must also be administered at least a week or two before travel in order to be protective. 

Those travelling abroad should consult with an infectious disease or travel medicine specialist at least one month prior to trip departure to insure adequate protection against infectious diseases.  Destination specific vaccination requirements can also be found on mPassport.com.

Photo info: http://www.flickr.com/photos/darwinwins/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
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The Safe and Healthy Traveler’s Guide to Packing: Part One

Thursday, June 11th, 2009 by Andy Orr

iphonePacking for a trip used to be easy.  I would wake up the morning of the trip, grab a suitcase, throw in more clothes than I needed, dump all of the things on my bathroom sink into my Dopp kit*, sign a stack of traveler’s checks and, of course, write all of their serial numbers in that small, separate booklet just in case and last, but not least, make sure I had my itinerary or at least a semblance of one.

Two items (are they newspaper articles or blog posts? – does it even matter anymore?) in yesterday’s ‘papers’ caught my attention relative to planning for an international trip.  First, the Wall Street Journal’s Laura Landro writes about the importance of pre-travel vaccinations in Taking the Bite Out of Travel.  While we have blogged a lot about the H1N1 virus, it is still far more likely that you will catch an infectious disease when traveling to certain destinations.  This risk is multiplied if you forego seeing a travel-medicine specialist well before your departure date and fail to get the recommended vaccines or prophylactic medications.   

On a completely different subject, The New York Times article, Smartphone Rises Fast From Gadget to Necessity, makes it clear that these devices are not going away, and although it does not discuss travel explicitly, smartphones have become a must-have item for international travel.  In one fell swoop, a smartphone can serve as a hand-held GPS, a gateway to the Internet, a phone (duh), an MP3 player for audio tours, a calculator for currency conversion and an alarm clock.  Of course, if you are willing to spend some time in your phone’s app store, you can find even more functionality specifically tailored to your trip.  Did I mention that the new iPhone 3G S will have a built-in compass (like T-Mobile’s G1 Android phone)?

Both of these articles relate to the complexity of international travel – one on the dangers and corresponding precautions that should be taken ahead of your trip, the other to a tool that can greatly aid you during your travels by keeping you informed and connected. 

Stay tuned for Part Two in our What to Pack series where we will focus on putting together your own medical kit.

* Dopp kit – named after Charles Doppelt, a leather-goods maker from Chicago, the Dopp kit was popularized during World War II when they were issued to the U.S. armed forces.  In the U.K., they are called ‘sponge bags.’

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Outbreak in Africa’s Meningitis Belt Means Travelers Need Immunization

Friday, April 24th, 2009 by Frank Gillingham, MD

High season is nearing the end in the annual battle against meningitis in many countries of equatorial Africa. According to the Centers for Disease Control , there have been over 25,000 suspected cases so far this year in an area that stretches from Mali and Senegal in the west to Ethiopia and Eritrea in the east. Nigeria and Niger have been especially hard hit. The high season for infections runs from December through June.

If you aren’t immunized, it isn’t safe to visit these countries at this time.

Forgive me this pause for a little education – Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges – the thin lining of the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms may include severe headache, a stiff neck, fever, vomiting, a marked sensitivity to light, and delirium.  It is most commonly caused by the Neisseria meningiditis bacteria. Despite early and adequate treatment, 5-10% of patients die, usually within 24-36 hours.  Those who recover may experience brain damage, with hearing loss and/or learning disabilities in 10-20% of survivors.  The infection is spread by breathing in the small droplets of fluid from the sneezing or coughing of those affected. In short, it spreads quickly and it’s devastating.

http://gamapserver.who.int/mapLibrary/Files/Maps/Global_MeningitTravelers to the so called “meningitis belt” MUST be immunized.  Fortunately, the two commercial vaccines available in the United States (MPSV4 or Menomune and MCV4 or MenactraT) provide protection against the most common types of infection.  Students who are immunized against meningitis in preparation for dormitory living in the U.S.  typically receive these vaccines, but they should check with their physician to make sure they are protected.  Those traveling through  or living in the meningitis belt should adopt strategies for avoiding the illness such as staying away from large gatherings, refraining from sharing drinking and eating utensils, and seeking medical attention at the first sign of a headache, fever, stiff neck, or purplish rash. 

The CDC has a website for frequently asked questions about meningitis and the World Health Organization provides useful information on its website.  Though there is no guarantee that vaccinations will eliminate your chance of contracting the infection, they are safe, effective and highly recommended.

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