Cabo & hepatitis?
 

I have a trip coming up to the tip of the Baja in Mexico (SJD). I've never been exposed to or vaccinated against any form of hepatitis, but my doctor asked me to consider shots against Hep A & B before I go. Because my trip is only a month away, I don't have time to do the full 6 month course of shots before I go. I guess by starting the treatment, however, I'd be pretty protected.

My impression, though, is that Cabo should be pretty clean/safe.

What'd'ya say, folks? Vaccinate or don't vaccinate?

Any other thoughts about staying healthy in Cabo? I plan to avoid (drinking, not swimming in) the water.

From what I have read, you do start to get some protection from the Hep vaccinations within a couple weeks of getting the first one.

I highly recommend that you get them. I'm not a doctor, and this isn't medical advice. But, hepatitis can be pretty easy to get; even in the US there have been a couple cases in areas near me where a hundred people or whatever will get hep B from a grocery store that had one infected person.

Aside from the pain of getting a shot and a little soreness for a couple days, it seems like a good plan.

d

hep is rampant in mexican seafood (burkey where are you?) so even if you are careful it's easy to get exposed...
even babies are getting vaccinated now on a routine basis - we got the shots a few years ago and had no illeffects...

[This message has been edited by squeakr (edited 05-14-2003).]

Because hepatitis is pretty much everywhere we decided to get the vaccines. I was told the first two pretty much give you full coverage and the last one is just a booster. Insurance covered them and they were pretty painless. We figured it certainly couldn't hurt to have them.

I've had the hep A shots long ago; they're readily available, no ill effects, and hepatitis is something you do NOT want, ever.

Yikes! Something else to worry about. I posted a couple of questions in the "Mexico" forum below regarding the potential for sickness from food and drink there. You may want to check that out too.

Do not drink the water. Ice in hotels and better restaurants is made from purified water.

An old friend foolishly ate raw oysters in Mexico (I believe it was in Cabo). He ultimately required a liver transplant. Get the shots and for heavens sake, do not eat even consider eating an oyster.

Thanks for all the comments.

I don't eat fish of any kind, so I should be fine on that point. I also don't plan on consuming any liquids that don't come out of a bottle, nor do I plan on consuming ice. I'll look into whether my hotel (Melia Cabo Real) has a water treatment system, though I don't know if I'll believe them even if they tell me they do.

My concern has more to do with food preparation staff carrying hepatitis, and whether they then transfer the illness to my prepared food.

It sounds like you all would err on the side of caution and would get the shot (or already have done so!). My complicating factors are a/ my husband donates blood products regularly and would no longer be able to do so if he got the shots, and b/ I was once immuno-compromised and prefer not to overload my immune system with vaccines unless I absolutely can't avoid it (and in fact I am forbidden from receiving live-virus vaccines, though the hepatitis vaccine isn't live-virus).

I'll give the matter some more thought.

The shots you can get ( only 2 required) are for food bourne hep only. The really nasty hep that is passed by people is not something you can easily vaccinate against. You are getting confused. There is a HUGE difference between the two. One is potentially deadly the other a couple of really sick days. Talk to your doctor he/she will get you squared away. Makes sense to get the shots and eat with less fear. P.S. I go to Cabo all the time and it is 100% better than mainland Mex. Enjoy the trip

Vaccinate. Well-tolerated, effective vaccines. In fact, all kids (babies) get Hep. B now.

1) yes food handlers can pass on hep which is a good reason to get the vaccines

2) is canada different from US? I have gotten Hep A and B vaccinations and can still give blood here in US in CA. You just have to wait a bit.

3) immunocompromised people should ESPECIALLY get the shots as the sequelae of Hep is MUCH worse (generally - your doctor knows best of course) then a reaction you would have from the vaccines. Here in SF many people w/ HIV and Hep C are recommended to get the shots.



[This message has been edited by squeakr (edited 05-15-2003).]

We're in the US, but my husband may have gotten his info from Canada. I'll check on that, thanks for pointing out the likelihood that our info was inaccurate, squeakr.

Bottom line is I guess I'm paranoid about vaccines. I have a colleague who was permanently disabled by a vaccine, not hepatitis, though I've heard hepatitis vaccine horror stories too.

BTW, LilrooLN, I'm not looking for a vaccine against hep C (I don't believe there is one), but thanks for your concern.