Many Americans Don't Get Recommended Vaccines Before Travel

Americans who travel abroad often do not receive the recommended vaccines that would protect them from certain illnesses, new research suggests. One study of Americans visiting travel clinics found that more than half of those who were recommended to get a measles vaccination did not do so before traveling. Another study found that more than two dozen Americans were sickened with hepatitis A while visiting a resort town in Mexico in early 2015. Although the hepatitis A vaccine is recommended for people going to Mexico, none of the people who got sick in this recent outbreak were vaccinated before traveling. "Americans planning international travel should see their health care providers or visit a travel clinic four to six weeks before the trip to learn what vaccines are recommended before heading to their destinations," said Dr. Emily Hyle, an instructor at Harvard Medical School in Boston, who led the measles vaccine study. About half of all U.S. measles case are tied to people who catch the disease while traveling abroad, Hyle said. "If we are more proactive about being sure that departing U.S. travelers have measles immunity, [this] could go a long way towards" reducing measles cases, Hyle said in a news conference today (Oct. 9). Both studies were presented here at IDWeek 2015, a meeting of several organizations focused on infectious diseases. For their study on measles vaccinations, Hyle and colleagues analyzed information from more than 40,000 American ad...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news