New Yorker Traveling Abroad: Is a Typhoid Vaccination Needed?
New Yorker Traveling Abroad: Is a Typhoid Vaccination Needed
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Leaving New York City and traveling abroad? Have a great trip! But make sure you get a typhoid vaccination before you go, especially if you're visiting parts of East Asia, the Middle East, Central and South America, or Africa.
Typhoid fever conjures up images of turn-of-the-century jungle hospitals packed with suffering patients. It's a serious and potentially deadly disease that has been around for centuries. Typhoid fever is believed to be behind the plague that wiped out much of the population of ancient Athens, as well as the early American colony at Jamestown, Virginia.
People generally get typhoid from ingesting contaminated food and water. Typhoid is caused by a bacterium called Salmonella Typhi, which is found in fecal mater. Anytime you mix unwashed hands with food prep, you run the risk of spreading the disease.
Thankfully, modern sanitation techniques have greatly reduced the risk of typhoid fever for people living in the United States and other industrialized nations. According to the Centers For Disease Control, there are only about 400 cases of typhoid fever in the United States each year, and 75% of those are acquired during international travel.
Typhoid fever is still common in developing nations, however. According to the CDC, American travelers visiting Asia, Africa, and Latin America have been especially at risk over the last decade.
A typhoid vaccination can greatly reduce your risk of getting typhoid. But it's not foolproof, so you should always be careful of what you eat and drink when traveling. Drink bottled water, and avoid drinks with ice. Watch those salads, too! Lettuce is easy to contaminate and hard to properly clean. Ask for fruits and vegetables that you can peel, and peel them yourself (after washing your hands thoroughly, of course!) Everybody wants to be adventurous when traveling, and get a feel for the local flavor, but watch the foods and beverages you buy from street vendors, or you might get more than you bargained for!
There are two types of typhoid vaccines approved by the Centers For Disease Control
1) An inactivated (killed) vaccine given as shot.
2) An attenuated (weakened) vaccine, which is taken orally.
If you're not afraid of needles, go for the shot. One injection offers protection for up to two years (a booster is recommended after that). The typhoid vaccination shot takes two weeks to become effective, so leave yourself enough time before you travel.
The oral typhoid vaccination is four capsules taken every two days. This typhoid vaccination should be completed a week prior to traveling. A booster of the oral typhoid vaccine is recommended every five years.
Side effects for both vaccines are minimal. The most common complaints of those who received the shot were minor swelling or soreness at the injection site (about 7 people out of 100), headache (3 people out of 100) and fever (one person out of 100). Those who take the capsule sometimes complain of fever or headache (about 5 people out of every 100). Severe reactions, (stomach pain, swelling, shortness of breath, etc.) are very rare for both vaccines.
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