Travellers urged to use vaccination clinic

By Brian St. Denis

Travelers hoping for a disease-free vacation have two new options on their side at the Hastings Health Unit’s travel vaccination clinics.

The county health unit now offers immunization against yellow fever and malaria, two common and life-threatening communicable diseases.

“The yellow fever [vaccination] we started a few months ago, and that was a new vaccine being offered,” said Wayne Tucker, director of communicable disease control for the Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit. “Malaria has an oral medication, as there’s currently no vaccine. It’s basically four meds that we’re going to be offering, and it really differs depending on where you’re at risk.”

Tucker said some of the biggest destination spots at which these diseases are found are the Caribbean islands such as Jamaica, the Bahamas, and the Dominican Republic. The World Health Organization lists over 100 countries that are currently malaria endemic. When a disease is endemic, it is constantly occurring.

“Some cruises, they drop in or they go past an endemic country, so it may not be necessary [to be inoculated],” said Tucker. “That’s where going through a consultation and figuring out where the level of risk is comes in.”

The cost of the malaria pills is still undetermined. The shots for yellow fever cost $100, which doesn’t include the consultation fee, which varies for individuals, couples and families. Tucker stressed the importance of the consultation for travelers to be properly protected, as well as avoiding unnecessary side effects.

“With yellow fever, some of the side effects are more significant, which is why you don’t want to be getting immunized if you don’t need it,” said Tucker. “Malaria, depends on what one you’re on; sometimes we’ll give a treatment dose for a few days to see how people react to it. You don’t want them to be traveling and then start having problems with it.”

Both yellow fever and malaria are transmitted by mosquito bites. Yellow fever is usually spread by daytime-biting mosquitoes, and malaria by nighttime ones. Tucker advises to take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites, such as wearing long-sleeved clothing, netting, and insect repellant.

Symptoms of yellow fever, if untreated, include gastrointestinal bleeding, organ failure, and jaundice, which is where the disease gets its name. Malaria usually includes fever and flu-like symptoms, and chills.