Get a typhoid vaccination in NYC so next time you travel you can actually drink the water

There are about 400 cases of typhoid found in the United States per year, which is relatively small considering that 75 percent of these cases occurred in Americans who had recently traveled outside of the United States. Further yet, a portion  of the 25 percent of domestic cases can be traced to international products consumed in this country. In August of 2010, for example, Goya and La Nuestra companies were forced to recall all of their frozen mamey pulp products after they were linked to a handful of typhoid cases reported on the West Coast. Their contaminated product, mamey pulp, is a tropical fruit grown mostly in Central and South America, meaning that the bacteria was most likely imported into this country, not formed within. So the US, as with most developed nations, manages to control typhoid pretty well.

Underdeveloped countries, some of which tend to be wonderful vacation spots, do not fare so well. According the Center for Disease control about 21.5 million people in the developing world contract typhoid fever every year. In the past decade, United States residents traveling to Latin American, Asia and Africa have experienced especially high frequencies of typhoid. If you plan on traveling to any of these areas you should avoid this sickness by getting a typhoid vaccination NYC at a certified travel clinic weeks before you take off.

For it is almost impossible to avoid a disease that manifests within the food and water of the country you visit. Tyhpoid fever spreads when humans swallow foods and water that has been contaminated with the bacterium Salmonella Typhi. These microorganisms live in the stool of infected persons, and can in more ways than you’d like to imagine make its way into your mouth.  For example food is often spoiled when handled by someone sick with the disease that works in conditions where proper hand washing procedures are not enforced. Water proves a risk because local drinking water in countries with poorly maintained sewage systems is at times polluted with Salmonella Typhi, leading to the traveler’s common motto: “Whatever you do, don’t drink the water.”

Once ingested the bacteria multiplies and spreads throughout the bloodstream, causing the body to react with fever of 103 to 104 degrees. People also tend to experience severe headaches, abdominal pains and loss of appetite. People who do not get treated with antibiotics can sustain a fever and other symptoms for months, with as many as 20 percent dying due to complications from the bacteria.

If you plan on traveling to an area where typhoid fever is common you should visit a travel center to get a typhoid vaccination to prevent infection. Make sure to make an appointment at least 3 weeks prior to departure to ensure the immunization will take affect before you land in your destination.  Also, just because you’ve received a vaccine for typhoid once before does not mean you are not due for another; the vaccine loses its potency after several years. You can check with your travel doctor to find out if you are due for another shot.

If you live in or nearby New York City, make an appointment with this travel clinic in NYC located in Midtown. Your doctor carefully considers your entire itinerary to make sure you have all the needed medications and vaccines you need. Importantly, this clinic is also affordable, and clearly lists its pricing for vaccinations on its website at TravelClinicNY.com. Check it out to conveniently compare their prices with other clinics.

Log onto oral typhoid vaccination to make an appointment or call their office at 212-696-5900. You shouldn’t have to feel nervous about drinking water and enjoying local cuisine while abroad. Get vaccinated.

When you lack the evolutionary advantage, get the malaria vaccination in NYC

According the Center for Disease Control, each year nearly 1,500 people are diagnosed with malaria in this country, mostly in travelers returning from high risk zones. Every year, millions of people from the United States travel to malaria endemic regions, especially sub-Saharan Africa, and put themselves at risk to the disease. Once infected, individuals can suffer from high fever, headache, anemia, and inflammation of the spleen. Those who develop cerebral malaria, when the disease attacks the brain, commonly suffer from insanity, unconsciousness and, often, death.

Yet people living within developed countries have the privilege of convenient access to anti-malaria drugs and vaccinations. A prospective traveler in the US can substantially lower his or her risk of contracting the disease by visiting a travel clinic and receiving a malaria vaccination that builds immunity against it. Not all countries benefit from these life-saving immunizations. 

It is likely that malaria has killed more people worldwide, especially children, than any other infectious disease. The World Health Organization reports that over 40% of the world’s population lives in malaria zones. Every year 300-500 million people are affected by it, including one million children under the age of 6 that die of it every year. The disease can have devastating effects on individuals and communities badly affected by it, with sometimes severe political and economic ramifications. But do local peoples, with little to no access to anti-malaria vaccinations or travel clinic, have defenses against malaria infection?

An interesting aspect of microevoultion theory is how it explains the existence of certain heritable yet terminal diseases that refuse to be naturally weeded out of human populations. Skeptics of Darwin ponder how evolutionary theory by means of natural selection supports itself in cases like sickle-cell anemia, which creates abnormal hemoglobin that in turn misshapens and injures red blood cells, preventing them from adequately carrying oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. Why hasn’t this unfavorable trait been naturally selected out of populations? And which population can benefit from malaria prevention NYC?

One important marvel is how people that are heterozygous for sick cell anemia, meaning they carry one allele of it by mean of their mother or father, actually have strong survival genes against malaria. The explanation is surprisingly simple: The malaria virus attacks the host by invading its red blood cells where it replicates and spreads by infecting other red blood cells. But individuals who are heterozygous for Sickle Cell Anemia do not have enough healthy red blood cells for the virus to infect and grow in, thus inhibiting malaria to grow strong and overtake host. Thus is it an advantage for people living in malaria endemic regions to be heterozygote for Sickle Cell Anemia, granting it as a favorable trait to be passed on to future generations.

And it has, with sickle cell carrier frequencies at almost 40% in some African populations, where malaria has thrived for thousands of years. You’ll see similar statistics in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Indian populations where malaria resides. Microevolution theory gives us a fascinating example of how individuals within these populations have survived malaria environments with the aid of a usually life-threatening disease.

Yet most Americans have not developed this advantage, and need to get a malaria vaccination before entering any of these countries. If you live in or nearby NYC, visit this travel doctor NYC located in Midtown. It sits in between 39^th and 40^th street, just two blocks from the Bryant Park and Grand Central transit locations. The staff will answer all your concerns and offer expertise advise about maintaining your health while your abroad. Call 212-696-5900 or visit Travel Clinic New York  to make an appointment.

When you lack the evolutionary advantages, let modern medicine pick up the slack. Take advantage of travel vaccinations.