Scuba Vaccinations??

[Warhammer]

I went and renewed my Tetanus vaccination today and that got me to thinking what else I may want to consider. I’ve always kept the Tetanus current due to my line of work, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that Scuba divers also need to get the Typhoid Fever vaccination. I asked the nurse that gave me the Tetanus shot about it and she had very little info on it. She said that they didn’t have it but could get it, if I wanted it. She also said that it went out years ago and very few people get them anymore. And those who do usually do so only if traveling to certain countries, she couldn’t remember which countries. She said she could see the need for a scuba diver, but only if that diver was diving in contaminated water. My question; is the Typhoid Fever vaccination still needed by divers? Or is it a more a matter of where you’re diving, if so where shouldn’t I dive without it? Besides Don’s stock tank of course. Also are there any other vaccinations that I should consider getting?

 

[AllenP]

This wouldn't have anything to do with your "Deep Relief" thread would it? After seeing that I think I'll be looking for that Typhoid Fever vaccination too.

 

[Dee]

It depends on where you plan to travel. I've been to Cozumel, Mexico and Roatan, Honduras and haven't had any vaccinations for either, although the National Disease Control (?) has advised malaria meds for both places. Cozumel and Roatan are both islands and my DR. said both were safe, that it's travel to the mainlands of both those countries where you have to be careful.

BillP, ScubaDoc, and John Reinertson I'm sure can give you all the info you need.

 

[Warhammer]

AllenP.........LOL!! That's low, man, low. No, nothing to do with that pic.

Dee......I done a little more digging and found recommendations for Typhoid vaccainations if you plan on visiting Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Peru, Chilie, and some others were top on the list. Also found recommendations for getting a Hepitis A vaccination for visiting the same and some others. But what really concerns me is the water in which I dive and not so much that which I drink.

ScubaDoc.......What's your recommendation?

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Warhammer,

Go the CDC website (http://www.cdc.gov/travel/)& search the area you're planning on visiting. The recommendations for coverage are usually quite conservative, but will afford maximum protection.

As for general recommendations, typhoid fever vaccination is probably not necessary except where recommended by the CDC. Last I recall hearing, only some areas of Mexico & India were really problematic.

IMHO, what is prudent for every traveler to foreign locations to consider is hepatitis A immunization & a polio booster. Exposure to these pathogens can happen in a surprising number of areas.

This is not medical advice to you or any other individual, and should not be construed as such. Check with your physician for definitive guidance.

Be well.

DocVikingo

 

[Warhammer]

So there's no reason to say that a diver would be a greater risk of contracting one these dieases than anyone else, even though the diver may dive in lakes, streams, rivers and such, where he may ingest some of the water in which he dives? Unless of course he were diving in sewage ponds and the like. I ask that without regard to aeras of the world that one would ordinarily take precautions when traveling too. So lets assume a diver in the US.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Warhammer,

The primary route of infection for typhoid fever, hepatitis A & polio is contact with others, either direct or indirect, who are carriers of the causative pathogens.

I certainly am not an expert in infectious diseases, but given that all other factors are equal, and that diving is not in high risk water like you mentioned, I suspect the diver is not at measurably greater risk for contraction than the nondiving traveler.

This is not medical advice to you or any other individual, and should not be construed as such. Check with your physician for definitive guidance.

Be well.

DocVikingo

 

[AllenP]

I did not mean for my last post to be taken personally or be low, Warhammer, just that it made me think about the risks of things like typhoid fever (and worse) when I saw it.

In this months Skin Diver Magazine, vol 50 no 2, on page 22 is an article "Cruise Ships in Hot Water". I would like to offer two quotes from the article:

"In the course of a one-week cruise, hundreds of thousands of gallons of waste is dumped directly into the sea."

"In the summer, testing of air and water in Alaskan ports revealed shocking levels of pollutants coming from cruise ships-fecal coliform exceeded federal standards by nearly 100,000 times."

Should we be concerned? I'll certainly think twice before diving in places where there are many cruise ships. But I don't know. The same article says to expect cruise ships to increase by as much as 70% in southern California by 2003.

I hope the CDC is taking this into account in the recomendations. They are our best hope for sound advice.

 

[Iguana Don]

Warhammer,
Hepititus comes to mind for you and your family.

Don & his 37 friends

BTW, do I get group rates?

 

[jenmichigan]

Don,

I can't imagine the vaccinations required for you and Dee to do this pond scum diving. eeeee!