# Vaccinations for vacations? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 16, 2006, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-for-vacations/368944 "2006-08-16T14:07:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![XaMcQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/f9ae1b/32.png) [@XaMcQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XaMcQ)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-for-vacations/368944/1 "2006-08-16T14:07:38Z")
In the movie ‘Shaun of the Dead’, Shaun’s mother remarks that she and her husband had holidayed in the Isle of Man, so they’d had all their shots. I found that a bit strange. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were shots to take to go to a developing country or maybe a tropical one, even, but the Isle of Man? What diseases are the concern there? What kinds of vacinations are needed to travel other places that you might not expect? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-for-vacations/368944/2 "2006-08-16T14:22:49Z")
That sounds like a joke to me: you would not need any shots to go to the Isle of Man, even though it’s outside the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-for-vacations/368944/3 "2006-08-16T16:44:57Z")
When we first went down to the Yucutan, we got hep A vaccines (we no longer need boosters, as the antibodies are now up to speed- might need a booster in 10 years or so). There are some fevers that you can also get vaccinated against if you are travelling to South America or Africa. If I was going to a malarial country, I would get whatever vaccinations I could. My BIL’s dad had malaria, and it was bad news. It would flare up throughout his life, causing lots of pain and problems. ---
**Author:** ![dasgupta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@dasgupta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasgupta)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-for-vacations/368944/4 "2006-08-16T17:04:10Z")
For my upcoming trip to India I need - Hep A Tetanus-diphtheria Typhoid Polio … and a prescription for anti-malarial pills. Fortunately I already had Hep B. Oddly enough, a few of these vacinations are not covered by my insurance. Apparently they’d rather pay for my polio treatment, instead of a $50 shot. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-for-vacations/368944/5 "2006-08-16T19:13:09Z")
I think that because polio is so rare in the US, chances are you would never need the shot, having been vaccinated (I am assuming) as a child. ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-for-vacations/368944/6 "2006-08-17T01:55:30Z")
> [@dasgupta](#): > > For my upcoming trip to India I need - > > Hep A > Tetanus-diphtheria > Typhoid > Polio > … and a prescription for anti-malarial pills. > > Fortunately I already had Hep B. Oddly enough, a few of these vacinations are not covered by my insurance. Apparently they’d rather pay for my polio treatment, instead of a $50 shot. It’s not that odd. Assuming you have already had the primary series of polio vaccinations, your chances of getting polio are tiny. Although India has the second highest incidence of polio (after Nigeria), there have only been 155 cases of polio reported there this year (as of 8/8/06) and most of the cases are in just three states. The overall rate is less than 4 cases per million people per year. So unless you plan to move to one of those three state more or less permanently, your insurance company has little to worry about. Nevertheless, I got the jab. It’s cheap, safe, and just one dose for the rest of your life. Typhoid is rare in the U.S., just 322 cases in 2004, so unless you travel, the insurance company has little to worry about, and if you travel, they probably figure it’s your problem. Diphtheria and tetanus are also rare enough (0 and 34 cases, respectively, in 2004) that its a fairly safe bet for your insurance company to not pay for the vaccine. (But lockjaw is bad enough that I get a tetanus-diphtheria booster every 10 years to be on the safe side.) It’s cheap, and safe, and you can now get the new, improved Tdap vaccine which includes protection against pertussis (whooping cough) which is NOT rare. (Although pertussis is not rare and can be debilitating, it is a rare cause of hospitalization in adults and therefore not a worry to your insurance company.) Hepatitis A is not terribly rare in the U.S., with 5683 cases reported in 2004 and almost certainly many more than that not reported. Did your insurance company pay for that one? As for residents of England getting shots to go to the Isle of Man, that’s a joke. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-for-vacations/368944/7 "2006-08-17T02:22:42Z")
However… > [@](#): > > The following vaccines may be recommended for your travel to Western Europe. Discuss your travel plans and personal health with a health-care provider to determine which vaccines you will need. > Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG). Transmission of hepatitis A virus can occur through direct person-to-person contact; through exposure to contaminated water, ice, or shellfish harvested in contaminated water; or from fruits, vegetables, or other foods that are eaten uncooked and that were contaminated during harvesting or subsequent handling. You are not at increased risk in Northern, Western, and Southern Europe, including the Mediterranean regions of Italy and Greece. > Hepatitis B, especially if you might be exposed to blood or body fluids (for example, health-care workers), have sexual contact with the local population, or be exposed through medical treatment. Hepatitis B vaccine is now recommended for all infants and for children ages 11–12 years who did not receive the series as infants. > As needed, booster doses for tetanus-diphtheria. And… > [@](#): > > In 2004-2005 there has been a marked increase in reported cases of mumps in the United Kingdom. Tickborne encephalitis, a viral infection of the central nervous system, occurs in Austria, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark (only on the island of Bornholm); a few cases have also been reported from Italy, Norway, and France. Travelers are at risk who visit or work in forested areas during the summer months and who consume unpasteurized dairy products. The vaccine for this disease is not available in the United States at this time. To prevent tickborne encephalitis, as well as Lyme disease, travelers should take precautions to prevent tick bites (see below). > > Leishmaniasis (cutaneous and visceral) is found in countries bordering the Mediterranean, with the highest number of cases from Spain, where it is an important opportunistic infection in HIV-infected persons. > > Legionnaries disease, caused by the Legionella bacterium, is sporadic; some outbreaks have involved tourists at resort hotels. Both from CDC’s travel website for Western Europe (including the the UK). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-for-vacations/368944/8 "2006-08-17T02:42:54Z")
Only on the SDMB, installment 384: A joke about the least exotic overseas holiday possible from the UK becomes a link-fest about tropical diseases