Tag Archives: vaccine

Health, Travel

Vaccines for travel to Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo and the Amazon

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I was lucky enough to travel recently for the first time to Brazil and the Amazon. After negotiating the complex travel visa process, I learned from the Brazilian Consulate that I also need a vaccine for yellow fever, which is a virus endemic to most of South American and Africa, according to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Do I have to get vaccinated for yellow fever?

Without the yellow fever vaccine, I could have been denied entry into Brazil, according to the Brazilian Consulate. However, vaccination is not a requirement to enter any country, according to the CDC, so denied entry was unlikely, especially to modern cities like Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paolo. Further, I received my tourist Visa from the Brazilian Consulate without proof of vaccination.

In short, no, a vaccine is not required to enter Rio, Sao Paolo or other major cities in Brazil. However, it is recommended.

Map of yellow fever zone in South America

What are the risks of skipping the vaccine?

The risk of actually contracting the yellow fever virus is lower in South American than Africa, according to the CDC. However, unvaccinated travelers risk developing the horrible skin disease marked by pussy yellow, blistering boils spread by mosquito bites in infected areas. Somewhere between 10% to 90% of US travelers don’t get the vaccine. All of the cases of yellow fever in the US are brought back by these people. I didn’t want to be one of them.

Since we planned to visit the Amazon, vaccination seemed like a sensible preventive measure. So I made some calls to local health care clinics to set an appointment. Of the five major health care clinics on Maui, only two offer international travel vaccines: Kaiser Permanente and Dr. Chad Meyer. Kaiser only treats members. Fortunately, Dr. Meyer sees everyone else.

You might have to call around to find a doctor that specializes in travel medicine in order to get vaccinated for yellow fever.

What else do I need to know about the yellow fever vaccine?

Here’s a summary of what my doctor told me about the vaccine for the yellow fever virus:

  • Vaccine against the yellow fever virus must be given 3 weeks before travel to affected areas in order to be effective.
  • The vaccine is a single injection of 0.5 mL of reconstituted virus. In other words, it’s a live virus vaccine.
  • Side effects could include fever, pain, swelling and yellow fever. (Yuck!) But immunity, once developed, is lifelong.(Yay!)
Yellow fever virus transmitted through mosquitos producing pussy boils

Dr. Meyer also recommended that I receive vaccinations for additional diserases:

The total cost for these vaccines, plus the office visit to review traveler’s health tips, cost about $500 cash.

Have you been vaccinated? If so, please reply and tell us about your experience with the vaccine, yellow fever or travel to endemic areas.

Hawaii resources for international travel vaccines:

  • Kaiser Permanente, Travel Medicine Department — (808) 243-6000
  • Dr. Chad Meyer, Maui Travel Medicine — (808) 573-5088
  • O’ahu has more resources than Maui, including Kaiser, Queen’s and Straub clinics.
  • On Kauai and the Big Island, area hospital clinics have the vaccines.
Family, Travel

Checking pets to and from Hawaii

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Question from a reader: What are the airlines’ rules for kennels to transport pets as checked cargo/baggage to and from Hawaii?

Answer:

American Airlines provides the most specific details on which size of pet (dog or cat) kennel / crate they allow. According to their website:

Pets Traveling as Checked Baggage

The maximum size for checked kennels is a series 500 kennel with the following dimensions: 40″ long x 27″ wide x 30″ high. However, this size kennel is not accepted on the Boeing MD-80 (S80). Kennels checked on MD-80s must be able to fit through the cargo door while remaining in an upright position. MD-80 cargo doors are 29″ high x 53″ wide.

Series 700 kennels are not allowed on any aircraft.

The maximum weight of a checked pet and kennel (combined) cannot exceed 100 lbs.

Collapsible Kennels (those which can fold down flat) can not be accepted due to the risk of collapse during transport.

Pets Traveling as Carryon

The maximum size for cabin pet carriers is 23″ long x 13″ wide x 9″ high.

Other domestic airlines are likely to have similar guidelines, but they aren’t posted. I suggest calling your desired airline to check before booking a ticket.

Remember that the FAA also imposes runway temperature restrictions for pets. Generally, pets are only allowed to travel when the runway is not more than 85 degrees F and not less than 45 degrees F. An exception can be made to 20 degrees F, if a veterinarian certifies that the pet is acclimated to lower temperatures. No exceptions are allowed over 85 degrees (think Dallas in summer) or under 20 degrees (think Boston in winter).

Basic health requirements must also be met, including original proof of vaccination for rabies for pets departing Hawaii. For pets traveling to Hawaii, stringent health rules apply. Learn more about those from the state quarantine office. Due to state budget cuts, the inspection facility at Honolulu Airport has reduced its hours as follows:

Effective December 1, 2009 inspection hours for dog and cats at Honolulu International Airport (HNL) will be between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily, including weekends and holidays. This information is particularly important for those who are qualifying their pets for direct release at the airport.  Pet owners should be sure to arrange for their flights to arrive by 3:30 p.m. because it may take up to one hour for the airlines to transport a pet to the Airport Animal Quarantine Holding Facility and animals not arriving at the facility by 4:30 p.m. will not be released at the airport that day.   Pets arriving in the late afternoon and evening will be held overnight until inspections are completed the following morning.  Pet owners who are connecting to neighboring islands should pay particular attention to the change in inspection hours.  (An advisory was posted on this website on August 17, 2009 to advise pet owners of the probability of reduced inspection hours.)

Health, News, Science

Interview with Vaccine Fundraiser Alan Gillespie

I spoke recently with Alan Gillespie, chairman of IFFIm, about his unique approach to saving the world. He is not a physician or a scientist; rather, he is an economist and financier, who is bringing his considerable experience in the financial markets to bear on preventable disease by raising huge sums of money on the international capital markets for lifesaving vaccines. Read the full story in the current issue of Nature Medicine.