help with children vaccines for developing world

[ver]

I'm for not vaccinating unless exposure is highly likely, treatment is difficult to get and vaccine is very effective. Which ones would you give to your child for sure if you were going overseas to a developing country to live? I already know about the CDC website, I want feedback from people who have researched it themselves. Thanks.

[Science Mom]

Ver, That would depend upon where you are going. Have you perused the literature for endemic diseases for where you are going? That will help you get started.

SM

[aussiemum]

I love the thought of overseas holidays!.....


So, where are you going , as that will likely direct which vaccinations are reqiured for your destination?

[alegna]

That would depend on the country and the living conditions.

-Angela

[ver]

I don't know where we're going yet. We're still searching for work. But I do know that we'll end up in a developing country and I was thinking that tetanus and maybe polio might be an issue. The other diseases I think are not that scary or am I misinformed?

[Science Mom]

Ver, You need to base your decisions on information and your situation. If you don't have access to adequate medical care then Pertussis can be very serious, Hepatitis B could suddenly become a concern as would Polio. Measles is nothing to scoff at and if you are planning to get pregnant again, you would want to make sure that you either have an adequate anti-rubella antibody titre or get vaccinated. If you are going to a Yellow-fever and/or Malaria endemic area then those would be of concern as well. You should intimately acquaint yourself with all of the health issues of where you will end up, not just vaccine-preventable diseases.

SM

[alegna]

Originally Posted by ver

I don't know where we're going yet. We're still searching for work. But I do know that we'll end up in a developing country and I was thinking that tetanus and maybe polio might be an issue. The other diseases I think are not that scary or am I misinformed?

Tetanus is everywhere. And never been a real issue in children. I wouldn't consider that.

Polio- I understand the concern in some areas. If I was in an area where I would not have clean water for my children and polio was around, I'd do the OPV not the IPV.

But personally I wouldn't put my children in a living situation where they wouldn't have clean water.

-Angela

[aussiemum]

Originally Posted by alegna

But personally I wouldn't put my children in a living situation where they wouldn't have clean water.

-Angela

A really good hand pumped water filter will eliminate just about all the usual water borne nasties that can cause the common gastro i.e. giardia, cryptosporidium, etc. I don't know about things like typhoid or hep though, I'm thinking it's pretty unlikely that even a very good filter would get rid of those.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by aussiemum

A really good hand pumped water filter will eliminate just about all the usual water borne nasties that can cause the common gastro i.e. giardia, cryptosporidium, etc. I don't know about things like typhoid or hep though, I'm thinking it's pretty unlikely that even a very good filter would get rid of those.

There are some expensive water purification systems that apparently work well. But many work in VERY small quantities.

-Angela

[amnesiac]

This is an interesting thread in the archives that you might like to check out:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=158399

[EdnaMarie]

Ver, I do live in an extremely poor country.

You have two things to consider. One is the likelihood of getting the disease in question, like typhoid. The other is the possibility of getting high-quality treatment in time.

It really depends on where you are going.

Let's take the likelihood of getting a disease. For example, if you are going to South America, polio is not going to be an issue. Even in most of Africa, your statistics for getting polio are nearly the same as in the United States, i.e. zero cases per 100,000 or whatever. If you are going to Gujarat in India, that's a different story.

Tetanus is not going to be more likely anywhere, provided your kids are well-supervised and are not playing in areas where they can get lots of scratches.

The typhoid vaccine is for fives and up anyway.

In most poor countries, you cannot guarantee that your children are going to be drinking only clean water, because they may drink water at their friends' houses, for example, where it's not boiled properly. Or they might ingest water when swimming. Or they might drop food on the ground and pick it up to eat it before you see them doing it. Or whatever. Many very attentive parents in poor countries suffer because most of the population is too poor and uneducated to take the proper precautions, and this makes all people more vulnerable. So this raises your risk for everything, including diseases that cannot be prevented by vaccines (like giardia). The poorer and worse off the country, the higher your risk, just because of environmental contamination.

Now, on to treatment. In South America especially, and in a number of North African countries, they have some top-notch hospitals where you can trust what they are giving you. You do not have to constantly ask yourself, "Is my child getting expired antibiotics?" or "Does this doctor even know what tetanus is?" or "When will we get to the hospital? It's been four hours in the ambulance already!!!" So, for example, if you forgo tetanus, even though your chances are not as good as in the U.S. or, say, France, you still have a good chance of getting your kid life-saving treatment.

On the other hand, where I live, most of the good doctors have emigrated and most of the drugs we get are dumped on us when they expire. They overprescribe antibiotics, the hospitals often have the water turned off because the government doesn't keep the well pumps on, and sometimes the doctors have literally bought their diplomas a week ago. It is a very sad situation. So here, if my daughter did get tetanus, or pertussis, or the measles and got complications, we'd be screwed. It would actually be quicker and more effective to leave the country, and that is not saying much since flights abroad are not even daily.

Incidentally, I wouldn't go for the OPV for your own sake. It's mainly for the protection of others, so that you can't spread the virus to them. Though, it's much nicer (you swallow it instead of getting a shot). Anyway I just wanted to say, you don't need to get the OPV if you don't want. If you are just trying to keep your own kids safe, either the OPV or the IPV will do.

I would suggest you look at where you want to go, and then come back to this forum and Finding Your Tribe with more specific questions. Ultimately, though, it's still risk vs. benefit and you will need to decide for yourself. Good luck!

[alegna]

Originally Posted by Mahtob

Incidentally, I wouldn't go for the OPV for your own sake. It's mainly for the protection of others, so that you can't spread the virus to them. Though, it's much nicer (you swallow it instead of getting a shot). Anyway I just wanted to say, you don't need to get the OPV if you don't want. If you are just trying to keep your own kids safe, either the OPV or the IPV will do.

Do you have any links showing the efficacy of the current IPV?

My reading showed that it was likely ineffective.

-Angela

[amnesiac]

Originally Posted by Mahtob

The typhoid vaccine is for fives and up anyway.

In the US it can actually be given as young as 2.

[EdnaMarie]

Do you have any links showing the efficacy of the current IPV?

My reading showed that it was likely ineffective.

-Angela

Not on this computer I don't- my computer with all my bookmarks is in repair still. However, I read that while the IPV is less effective than the OPV, it is still effective and effective enough for a population that is not exposed much to polio. In this sense, the calculation to move to the IPV makes sense, because they are only doing it where they think the risk is very low. However, considering how international travel has taken off, especially to and from India's biggest cities which are themselves centers of internal migration, maybe the IPV won't be enough.

But no, I don't have the links now and moreover, this computer is soooo sloooow that doing a PubMed search is out of the question.

And Amnesiac- (This has been edited again-) Last time I checked, the recommendation was for five and up, even for intermuscular. However, I checked again and now it seems the WHO site says it's okay for babies?!? I will have to look again. Depending on the circumstances, length of stay, and endemicity, I'd definitely go for typhoid.