Vaccinations
for Mexico
Vaccinations are not required but taking some precautions will
eliminate serious health risks for the foreign visitor.
Consulting with the Pasteur Institute www.pasteur.fr
(in French and English) as well as Travel Health Online www.tripprep.com
for recommendations would be helpful.
The latest bird flu and chikungunya pandemics have created new
health alarms. It is essential that you consult with your doctor
or one of the Hospitals or Institutes that specialize in travel
health.
You need to know that in Mexico, travelers could
get infections linked to food and drinks as well as mosquitoes.
So, be careful what you eat and drink and bring a good mosquito
repellent.
Think of vaccinations as useful and necessary even though they
may not be mandatory. Some health centers recommend vaccinations
to protect against typhoid, yellow fever, hepatitis A and B, tetanus
and polio. Mosquitoes are virulent in some places (Chiapas,
Yucatán). Don’t
under estimate malaria and hepatitis. Some cases of cholera have
also been noticed in the last few years (protection with a shot
is not reliable, though).
Listing of some health centers :
USA
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention : CDC,
877 394-8747
Immunization hotline,
800-232-4636 - www.cdc.gov
Canada
Travel Medicine & vaccination Center, 1075 Marine Dr, Suite
203, North Vancouver, BC V7P,
(604) 681 5656
Medisys Travel Health Clinic, 1111 West Hastings St. 15th Floor,
Vancouver, BC V6E 2J3,
(604) 669 8188, www.medisys.ca
Ottawa Travel Clinic, Suite 201, 2446 Bank St, Ottawa, ON K1V
1A4,
(613) 739 0998
Health Travel-voyage Medisys, 500 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, 11th Floor,
Montreal- QC H2X 3H9,
(514) 499 2772,
(514) 845 4842, www.medisys.ca
Center Health-Travel of Quebec, 1000 Chemin Ste-Foy, local 304,
Quebec, QC G1S 2L6,
(418) 688 5621,
(418) 688 3249
UK
The Travel Clinic, 194 Uxbridge Rd, Shepards Bush, London, W12
7JP,
0208 749 9724
Ireland
Tropical Medical Bureau, 5 Northumberland Ave, Dun Laoghaire,
Co Dublin,
(01) 280 4996 ,
(01) 280 5603 www.tmb.ie
France,
in Paris
Centre de vaccination Air France: aérogare des Invalides
75007 Paris,
(33) 01 43 17 22 00/serveur vocal: 0892 68 63 64
Centre médical de l ‘Institut Pasteur, 211 rue de
Vaugirard 75015 Paris,
0 890 710 811 - www.pasteur.fr
The yellow fever shot (one shot is good for 10 years) is mandatory
only if you are coming from a yellow fever-infected area (parts
of Africa and South America). The more off beat places you’ll
visit, the more precautions you’ll need to take. Insect
and mosquito repellent is indispensable while visiting rural areas
in Chiapas and Yucatán.
Mosquitoes could transmit malaria in these areas. Consult your
doctor before leaving. Mosquitoes can also spread dengue
fever in southern and central states but the mosquitoes
can’t live at an elevation over 1200 m. There is neither
immunization, nor antiviral treatment for this. Don’t take
aspirin but paracetamol.
Hepatitis
: General term to design an inflammation of the liver: fatigue,
fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pains are the main symptoms.
The skin as well as the whites of the eyes becomes yellow.
Hepatitis A :
It is the most widespread and the first most common disease of
the traveler after malaria. It is transmitted by contaminated
food or water or by contact with a contaminated person. One shot
for an adult (2 for children) protects you for a 6-12 month period.
A second shot after this period will protect you for 10 more years.
Don’t forget this second shot whatever your travel projects
are. The protection is effective 4 weeks after the first shot.
Hepatitis B :
It is spread through sexual contact or contact with infected blood,
or exposure to an infected person’s blood via cuts, open
sores, needle sharing, razor sharing or ear piercing tools. The
protection is a vaccination series: 3 shots one month apart and
a booster one year later and another one every 5 years. Or 2 shots
one month apart followed by another shot 6 months later and a
booster every 5 years. The protection is maximum 3 months after
the first shot. You are advised to get your first shot 6 months
before leaving.
Today, there is a combined vaccination that protects against both
Hepatitis A and B. The vaccination series is: 2 shots one month
apart followed by another one 6 months later. Be aware if you
are ready to leave that the protection is reliable 4 weeks after
the first shot.
Typhoid fever :
It is a bacterial infection by ingestion of contaminated food
or drinks. Vaccination consists of one shot every 3 years. The
protection is effective 3 weeks later but the vaccination is not
completely reliable.
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