Need quick answer from those I trust - you!

[inchwormz]

I'm going to research further, of course, but I need a really quick answer and a few resources to send my sister about Hep A and Hep B vaccines.

She is going to Mexico as part of a "Save the Turtles" retreat and there are numerous vaccines that they have "recommended" she get. On the list was Tetanus which I already talked her out of. But I don't know enough about Hep A & B to offer any advice and she is going to fill the script for this $200+ vaccine today. Is this something that is a real concern for travelling? She is a 23 year old healthy adult, so no issues on that end. WWYD?

Also, Typhoid was recommended. She already rec'd this the other day, so no going back, but for my own knowledge, I'd love to learn more about this one. I'd never heard of it, but then again I've never travelled to this region in Mexico she is going to.

Thanks for any advice!!

[Gitti]

Hep A is mostly due to food poisoning.
Hep B is mostly a diseas of needle/drug users and prostitues.

I would not get any vaccines no matter where I traveled.

[inchwormz]

Thanks for the response! This much I'm aware of, but I need more of the risks of disease from this area. That is what she is most concern about. She believes that because she is in a "high risk" area, that chance of her getting hep a or hep b is very high. I'd like to see numbers to support this, but not sure where to find this info. She's also worried about the recovery if she were to contract it.

Also wanted to add after re-reading my post, I do know what Typhoid is, just didn't know there was a vaccine against it.

I know I personally would never get these vax, but I'm worried for my sister who is about to get them. While she is a healthy adult now, I'd like her to stay that way!

[ammiga]

Is she planning on having unprotected sex or sharing needles while on this trip? If not, I don't know why she's worried about hep b.

[xmasbaby7]

Yeah there really is no risk of Heb B unless she was a wilder sister than you thought.

Hep A could technically be a risk, so I would focus on its treatment were she not to be vaxed, and do her best to discover the efficacy of the vax.

The bummer of addressing this from a risk management standpoint is at what point is the Hep A vax worth it when the actual vaccine and those others she has already gotten are already probably weakening her overall immune performance for all of those other things she could encounter that have no vaccines.

This is why, for me, even when you can see decent efficacy of a certain vax in a higher risk area, it may not be worth it, and why most non vaxers still don't despite travel to undeveloped places.