Traveling to India with unvaxed toddler

[~Amy~]

My DH has the possibility of traveling to Bangalore for work & we'd like DS & I to go with him. DS (13 months) is completely unvaccinated. Would you be comfortable with this? If so, why?

TIA

[My3guys]

Wow, that is a tough one. I think a great deal depends on what you are doing there. Bangalore is a very large, industrialized city. The health care is excellent. If you are staying in 5 star hotels and being taken around by a driver and your child is mostly breastfed than maybe you can chance it. On the other hand, it is very much a third world country in lots of places and tens of thousands if not millions of kids die each year of disease in India. If you plan on eating lots of the local food and going out in the countryside, I would be more concerned. My DH travels to India a great deal for work. The biggest issues people have had in terms of sickness have been food. I would be very worried about hepatitis in that case.

If you plan on doing some touring around and being on trains or doing anything in the countryside than I might consider some of the vaccines. When I went, it was recommended that I get the rabies vaccine as rabies is so common there and is one of the leading killers (there are dogs EVERYWHERE). I know of one person who was bitten by a rabid dog at the Taj Mahal.

Also, I might post this question on a travel board. Try the Lonely Planet board (called the Thorn Tree) or the Fodor's or Tripadvisor travel boards.

I would print out the CDC recommended vaccine sheet and take it to your pediatrician and talk with your husband about what, exactly, you plan on doing while there. I think your itinerary will be a large determinant as to what you will feel comfortable doing vaccine-wise. Have fun, it is a great country.

We have opted to not bring our kids tell they are a bit older and I feel more comfortable giving them the recommended vaccines. I am not comfortable chancing it and with India, I personally feel I would be. However, my trip plan might be a bit more ambitious than yours.

Have a great trip

[rocketgirl96]

No way would I be comfortable with this. There have been confirmed outbreaks of meningococcal disease in India. Also, India is on the list of countries where you should get a polio vaccine or booster shot. Not to mention Hep A, Hep B, Malaria, and Typhoid.

http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/content/o...cal-india.aspx
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/content/i...outbreaks.aspx

It's one thing not to vaccinate your child while in the US, but it's not in the same ballpark if you're traveling overseas. Since most of these diseases have been eradicated in the US, we sometimes forget how dangerous they are and how very real they are in more undeveloped countries. I recently traveled to Thailand to visit family and I was so glad that I had made the decision to get DS vaccinated for the trip.

[~Amy~]

Thanks, ladies. I feel hesitant as well & was just wondering how other non-vaxing mamas would feel. I do plan to vaccinate him & was planning on starting at his 18 month WBV, but I am okay with starting earlier. There's no way I could get him UTD in time for this trip, though. On a side note, should DH be looking at vaccinations before he goes?

[rocketgirl96]

My husband and I made sure we were up to date on our shots when we traveled to Thailand so yes, if it were my DH, I'd want him to take a look at what the CDC recommends and talk to his doctor about it.

[My3guys]

MY DH company did not let him travel to India until it was confirmed that he had all the necessary travel vax. Fortuanately, we travel a ton so the list for him was not long. I would ABSOLUTELY get your husband to a travel clinic and get the needed meds.

[MountainMamaGC]

My friend from India took her infant son back home for a visit. He was not vaxed and came through just fine. This was a couple years ago mind you.

[Lollicup]

Originally Posted by rocketgirl96

No way would I be comfortable with this. There have been confirmed outbreaks of meningococcal disease in India. Also, India is on the list of countries where you should get a polio vaccine or booster shot. Not to mention Hep A, Hep B, Malaria, and Typhoid.

http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/content/o...cal-india.aspx
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/content/i...outbreaks.aspx

It's one thing not to vaccinate your child while in the US, but it's not in the same ballpark if you're traveling overseas. Since most of these diseases have been eradicated in the US, we sometimes forget how dangerous they are and how very real they are in more undeveloped countries. I recently traveled to Thailand to visit family and I was so glad that I had made the decision to get DS vaccinated for the trip.

:::

[Lollicup]

Originally Posted by Lydiah

My friend from India took her infant son back home for a visit. He was not vaxed and came through just fine. This was a couple years ago mind you.

He was lucky.

[ell]

I agree with the other ladies... it's an entirely different ballgame in India. I know grown men who've been flattened for weeks just from drinking (what was supposed to be) bottled water. Diseases that are rare to absent here are rampant there. I'd be catching up on vaxxes for sure.

[Juvysen]

According to Dr. Sears vax book... pretty much you don't have to worry about vaccinating for going overseas unless you'll be living as the natives do for weeks or months. Just to be the voice on the other side of the coin, I guess...

[My3guys]

According to Dr. Sears vax book... pretty much you don't have to worry about vaccinating for going overseas unless you'll be living as the natives do for weeks or months. Just to be the voice on the other side of the coin, I guess...

Yes, that is probably true in many first and second world countries. However, this is INDIA she is discussing. Yes, she could go and stay in a $1000/night 5 star hotel (there are really only two classes of hotel in India, the super expensive 5 star and guest houses. Slowly changing but for the most part, those are your options...especially in bangalore) and never leave. If that is the plan, why bother? However, once you leave the grounds of the Leela Palace or Oberoi or whatever you are staying at, you are at risk for a whole host of nasty, diseases. There is no way I would chance that with my kid. In fact, we haven't which is why our kids have not been yet.

Good luck with whatever you decide. It is a wonderful place, I hope you get to go.

CTK

[~Amy~]

Thanks for your thoughts, ladies I will definitely make sure that DH is vaxed before he goes. Hopefully he will be given enough notice to get the necessary ones done. Too bad I'm not the software programmer in the family...I'm UTD on all the travel vaxes recommended

[Marnica]

If it were a choice of vaccinating my infant DS so I could travel to India with my husband for work or passing on the trip. Id pass. I agree that there are probably some vaccines you would want to do if travelling to India, but I wouldn't want to give those to my child so I just wouldn't go. Not worth it IMO

[carriebft]

We were preparing to go to Bangalore before DH decided to switch jobs. we selectively vaccinate however and our thoughts were that the IPV would be sufficient for us given the state of Bangalore (with regards to which polio vaccine, if any, we wanted). The only things I would think about are Hep A and possible MMR depending on what the stats looked like-- we already decided on MMR for other reasons though so I had not really looked into it with regards to Bangalore.