Not So Mellow Yellow: Why You Should be Vaccinated for Yellow Fever

Along with sensitive bites and a talent for spreading infectious diseases, yellow fever provides just one more reason to hate mosquitoes. Once bitten by an infected mosquito, a human being can experience symptoms ranging from a headache to significant hemorrhaging. Fortunately, there are two effective lines of defense against the disease: awareness and prevention. Read on to better arm yourself against yellow fever, and to determine whether or not you are a candidate for vaccination.

Yellow Fever Vaccine: A Medical Gift to the Intrepid Traveler

Headed to Africa or South America? The tropical regions of sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America have the highest rate of yellow fever infection in the world. While there are undoubtedly certain locations with a lesser likelihood of exposure or a lower number of reported cases, vaccination is the only means of definitively protecting yourself while traveling in these areas.

It takes 10 to 14 days for the vaccine to become fully effective, so it is essential that you schedule your vaccination well before you enter a high-risk region.

Avoiding a Slew of Unpleasant (Potentially Life-threatening) Symptoms

Yellow fever progresses in three phases, with symptoms becoming more serious over time.

The first three to six days after exposure to the virus constitute the incubation period. No symptoms occur during this time, rendering the virus that much more illusory and difficult to treat in a promptly manner.

The second stage of yellow fever, known as the acute phase, is when the trouble really begins. Achiness, loss of appetite, nausea, dizziness, and as the name suggests, fever, comprise the most common symptoms seen during the acute phase. These signs typically last a few days, and often clear up before yellow fever moves into its most severe phase.

Unpleasant as these symptoms are, their seriousness pales in comparison to the virus’ third stage, known as the toxic phase. Upon entering into the toxic phase, a number of the symptoms from the acute phase recur with even greater intensity. This resurgence is coupled with the appearance of more extreme and potentially life-threatening symptoms, including jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes, usually related to liver and kidney dysfunction or failure), abdominal pain and vomiting, bleeding from the nose, mouth, and eyes, heart irregularity, and brain dysfunction.

Prevention and Treatment

You should seek medical care at the first sign of symptoms. Unfortunately, because yellow fever is a viral disease, treatment cannot eradicate the infection. Rather, treatment consists of combating symptoms as they occur, and ensuring that the body maintains healthy fluid, oxygen, and blood pressure levels. During the toxic phase, kidney dialysis and blood transfusion may be necessary.

Yellow fever is fatal in 20 to 50 percent of cases, with a likelihood of death increasing in older adults. Nevertheless, everyone is equally susceptible to the virus when entering into high-risk areas. Due to the viral character of the disease, the best approach is prevention – a simple yellow fever vaccination at a certified travel clinic– rather than treatment after exposure.

Dangers of Typhoid: Are You In The Know?

In a previous post about typhoid fever, I discussed the importance of the typhoid vaccine. Today, I am going to show the effects of typhoid fever, the warning signs, the symptoms, and why the vaccine should even be considered. The vaccination as I stated in the previous article about typhoid fever, though it has side-effects, are not severe and have been proven to be rather mild with such side effects as headaches, fever, and swelling at the site of the injection.

Every year, there are 16 million new cases of typhoid fever around the world. The virus mostly infects an individual’s liver, intestines, gallbladder, spleen, urinary and digestive system. Transmission of the virus can occur when an individual ingests contaminated food and water that have traces of the bacteria or infected feces of a person who carries the virus. Poor hygiene habits, poor public sanitation conditions, and flying insects that feed on feces can also lead to possible infection of the virus. Due to these numerous causes, many educational programs have highly suggested people to change their hygiene habits, to wash their hands thoroughly after cleaning after themselves and before handling food.

Symptoms appear within the first week after infection. Early symptoms, as with many other diseases, are flu-like causing fever, muscle aches, cough, and headaches. By the end of the first week, there is already a decrease in white blood cells which are the immune system’s primary defense against infection and disease. As the weeks go by, symptoms gradually worsen causing high fever, rashes, diarrhea, chills, delirium, constant nosebleeds, severe fatigue, hallucinations, and strong abdominal pain. Red spots also begin to appear on the lower chest and stomach. At its worst, typhoid fever eventually causes intestinal hemorrhage (due to bleeding on parts of the torn lymphoid tissue in the lower intestine), and intestinal perforation (an open hole in the final section of the small intestine) which is serious and in nearly all cases fatal.

Typhoid fever can last between three weeks to a month and an individual can recover after treatment. It’s been discovered that in cases that are untreated, about 10-30% of infected individuals do not survive. Those in the recovery process may have to go through surgical procedures if they endured intestinal perforation.

Despite the fact that the number of the cases in some parts of the world have decreased greatly thanks to the raising of awareness of typhoid by many public educational programs, vaccination is still recommended to prevent infection. There some parts of the world that the virus is still prevalent especially in developing countries where healthcare is low and poor sanitary conditions is common. So if you are planning to travel this summer, take into consideration vaccination because it’ll help you have immunity against the virus for many years. Even if you are not travelling, it’s best to begin considering the vaccine. We are surrounded by millions of people a year and going from place to place all the time. Sometimes the people that are in our surroundings may have hygiene habits that we may be unaware of.

In 1906, an incident occurred when a recovered typhoid victim was working as a cook. Mary Mallon suffered typhoid fever but was treated and though she had recovered, she still carried the virus and was a carrier for the rest of her life. During her time as a cook, beginning in 1906, she infected more than 50 individuals, three of whom who later died from typhoid. 

Once more, this article is not meant to strike fear in society nor warn people of a possible outbreak. But it is still important to consider vaccination because the disease can infect anybody and can be transmitted into an individual without them even noticing. If you are considering vaccination or are in need of it, visit us at our website at www.travelclinicny.com or call us at 212-696-5900 to schedule an appointment. Find out how you can get the typhoid vaccination today! As I always say, a clean bill of health is always bliss!

Factors of the Ever-Dangerous Tetanus and How It Is Countered

The medical condition Tetanus can be described as a prolonged contraction of skeletal muscle fibers.  One contracts the infection through deep cuts or puncture wounds, which eventually result in the increase of muscle spasms through certain parts of the body, especially in the jaw area.  Signs and symptoms of Tetanus usually begin with mild muscle spasms in jaw muscles, that then usually spreads to parts such as the chest, neck, back, and abdominal muscles.  In some cases, muscles that help with respiration fall victim to these spasms, which inevitably leads to breathing problems.  When the infection is in a more severe state, prolonged muscular spasms can cause rapid, painful, and unexpected contractions called tetany, which can cause fractures and even complete muscle tears.  Other symptoms of Tetanus include excessive sweating, fever, irritability, drooling, and uncontrolled urination or defecation.  In the last few years, only around 11% of reported tetanus cases have resulted in mortality, but on average mortality rates range from 48% to 73%, which is shockingly high.  Also, the highest mortality rates occur with people who are unvaccinated and are either over the age of sixty or newborn. 

            The tetanus toxin originally binds to peripheral nerve terminals and is then transported within the axon across synaptic junctions.  Eventually, the toxin reaches its destination in the central nervous system where it attaches to gangliosides at the presynaptic inhibitory motor nerve endings and is then carried into the axon by endocytosis.  At this stage, the toxin blocks the release of inhibitory neurotransmitters across the synaptic cleft.  The synaptic cleft checks the nervous impulse, which cannot be checked by normal inhibitory mechanisms. When the synaptic cleft is blocked, the muscle spasms of tetanus begin, preventing the release of neurotransmitters by the cells.

            Like other diseases, tetanus also contains an incubation period.  The incubation period usually last about only eight days although in some cases it can last up to several months.  The farther the infected site is from the central nervous system, the longer the incubation period lasts.  There are different types of tetanus, but the most prevalent form is Generalized Tetanus with represents 80% of the cases.  These spasms last for up to around four weeks and full recovery takes months, with death as a possibility.

            Those who have contracted tetanus are not always immune after recovery, because of the potency of the toxin.  The infection can be prevented though by vaccination with tetanus toxoid, a vaccination made from inactive tetanus toxins.  Because of the lack of complete immunity, booster shots are recommended every ten years.  The tetanus vaccine was first discovered and produced in 1924, and after the initial success in combating the tetanus infection, the vaccine has continued its usage.  Unfortunately there is not a medicine that can cure the infection when one has become contaminated, thereby placing more emphasize on the importance of getting vaccinated before potentially contracting this harmful disease. Over time, the vaccination has greatly decreased the stunningly high mortality rate of tetanus thereby shrinking the dangers of the deadly infection. Check with your local travel clinic for more information!

The Risks, Concerns, and Prevention of the Hepatitis B Virus

Hepatitis B is an infectious inflammatory infection that is caused by the virus of the same name.  Hepatitis B is considered to be a hepadnavirus meaning the virus is attracted by the liver (hepa) and is a DNA virus, which has a circular genome of DNA that is partially double-stranded.  The virus replicates by reverse transcription through an RNA intermediate, which all takes place within the infected host’s liver.   The disease, originally known as “serum hepatitis”, has been the root of several epidemics in the continents Asia and Africa, while considered an endemic in China.  Because of its large exposure and easy transmissibility, the Hepatitis B Virus has infected up to one third of the entire world’s population at some point in their lives.  Also, there are currently 350 millions people who are chronic carriers of the disease. 

            The virus transmits through the exposure of infected blood or body fluids that are passed during sexual activity.  The virus also has been detected in saliva, tears, and urine of chronic carriers, but fortunately, the Hepatitis B virus cannot be transmitted through acts such as kissing, coughing, sneezing, or the sharing of food utensils.  Because of the sheer magnitude of the virus’s reach, those in developing countries that lack proper health care and vaccination are more susceptible to contamination. Although perinatal infection is actually one of the largest routes in transmittal, other risk factors for contracting Hepatitis B Virus include tattooing and shaving with infected needles and razors, blood transfusions, and even sharing of a toothbrush with an infected person. 

            Common symptoms of the acute illness of Hepatitis B are inflammation of the liver, vomiting, jaundice, and although infrequently rare, death.  If one has chronic Hepatitis B, he or she may eventually contract cirrhosis or even liver cancer, which at the moment lacks constructive therapies.  The infection one gets from the Hepatitis B virus is highly associated with acute viral hepatitis, which is an illness that begins with the decrease in general health, loss of appetite, nausea, and fever that can eventually lead to the contraction of jaundice, as previously mentioned.  Also, it has been noted that itchy skin is a symptom of all hepatitis virus types.  The infection lasts a few weeks and then gradually improves in most people, although those with previous liver problems are likely to undergo more severe issues. 

            The HepatitisB vaccine, developed from the virus, is produced with yeast cells that have been altered with a genetic code.  The vaccine is injected over a course of two to three injections, in which the first two are separated by a month, with the last injection taking place six months after the initial injection.  After the injections, the bloodstream establishes an immune system antibody, which provides complete immunity to the hepatitis B infection.  The invention of the vaccine began in 1968 by virologist Alfred Prince, which was then expanded on by Maurice Hilleman.  After extensive research for a number of years by Hilleman, the vaccine was approved in 1981.  The vaccine is still in production today, can be acquired easily at a travel clinic, and it has gone a long way in preventing the worldwide spread of the easily transmittable hepatitis B virus.