Thursday, March 13, 2008

Required Vaccinations

The best place to get vaccinations is the Orange County Health Care Clinic. Here is a document with all the information on travel vaccinations. Call early as you will require an appointment and they sometimes require a booking a month in advance.

Travelers Clinic in Fountain Valley is a great doctor that specializes in travel vaccinations.

Here is the CDC list of required vaccinations from their website.

Vaccination or DiseaseRecommendations or Requirements for Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
Routine

Recommended if you are not up-to-date with routine shots such as, measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) vaccine, etc.

Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG)Recommended for all unvaccinated people traveling to or working in countries with an intermediate or high level of hepatitis A virus infection where exposure might occur through food or water. Cases of travel-related hepatitis A can also occur in travelers to developing countries with "standard" tourist itineraries, accommodations, and food consumption behaviors.
Hepatitis B Recommended for all unvaccinated persons traveling to or working in countries with intermediate to high levels of endemic HBV transmission (see map) and who might be exposed to blood or body fluids, have sexual contact with the local population, or be exposed through medical treatment, such as for an accident, and for all adults requesting protection from HBV infection.
Typhoid Recommended for all unvaccinated people traveling to or working in Southern Africa, especially if visiting smaller cities, villages, or rural areas and staying with friends or relatives where exposure might occur through food or water.
Rabies Recommended for travelers spending a lot of time outdoors, especially in rural areas, involved in activities such as bicycling, camping, hiking, or work. Also, children are considered at higher risk because they tend to play with animals and may not report bites.
Polio Recommended for adult travelers who have received a primary series with either inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) or oral polio vaccine (OPV). They should receive another dose of IPV before departure.
Malaria

We will not require Malaria medication for the Cape Town trip. If you are planning other travels, there is a malaria advisory for other parts of South Africa.

If you will be visiting a malaria risk area in South Africa, you will need to take one of the following antimalarial drugs: atovaquone/proguanil, doxycycline, or mefloquine (primaquine in special circumstances and only after G6PD testing).

Note: ROCKHarbor does not allow the user of Mefloquine on missions trips. There have been incidents in the past with side effects.

Note: Chloroquine is NOT an effective antimalarial drug in South Africa and should not be taken to prevent malaria in this region.

Malaria risk area in South Africa: Risk exists in the low-altitude areas of the Mpumalanga Province, Northern Province (Limpopo), and northeastern Kwa- Zulu-Natal as far south as the Tugela River. Risk in Kruger National Park.

No comments: