Travel Vaccines
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Polio
Facts
What is polio? Mainly affecting children under 5 years, this untreatable viral infection gives some people flu-like symptoms and nausea and in less than 1% of cases it can paralyse you.
Fecal oral
Transmitted from person-to-person, primarily through the fecal-oral route and less frequently through close personal contact with infected respiratory secretions or saliva.
74 cases
Reported in 2 endemic countries in 2015
Symptoms
Fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck, pain in the limbs
Severe case
Paralysis (in the legs, muscles used for breathing), death
Prevention
Precautions against polio, including good hygiene measures and vaccination, should be considered.
- Travellers should practise good hygiene measures, including frequent hand washing.
- Travellers with unimmunized infants/children should be advised to seriously consider delaying travel to endemic areas, ideally until full immunization has been obtained.
Vaccine
Getting the Polio vaccine ( Imovax-Polio ) is the most effective way to prevent polio infections. All adults who have been previously immunized against polio in their childhood should still receive one booster shot prior to entering the polio-risk region. All individuals not previously immunized should catch up on their polio series prior to travelling to areas with risk of polio.
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