Q
Is there any danger in getting a second polio inoculation if I cannot remember if I got one many years ago (1950s, postwar Japan)?
A
No. There is no harm in receiving a booster of the polio vaccine.
In the United States, widespread vaccinations of polio began in the 1950s. Back then, the vaccine was given as a much-weakened live form of the virus via oral drops or in a sugar cube. That's the method still used today in the developing world.
However, in this country, doctors use an injected version that contains a killed form of the virus. Because the polio virus infects you through your intestines, the oral vaccine is much more protective. But the oral form is no longer given in the United States because polio is not a threat here any more, and because there is a one-in-a-million chance that even a weak, live virus can mutate to become harmful again.
Q
I was vaccinated against polio as a child but am now over 50 years old and will be traveling to Pakistan. Do I need a booster dose of the vaccine or am I protected?
A
You should receive a booster. This is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation for travel to Pakistan and several other countries:
"Single lifetime additional I.P.V. (inactivated polio vaccine) dose recommended for adults who received routine vaccination series as children; routine series recommended for unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated children and adults and those with unknown vaccination status."
Q
Two of my grandchildren are going to Israel in June. Do they have to worry about getting the polio vaccine?
A
The answer depends on the age of the person traveling. The C.D.C. does not recommend boosters for adults unless they are traveling to a country where polio is circulating (or unless they work in a lab or are a health care worker taking care of polio patients.) That list currently includes Israel and could expand any time, since the virus is on the move.
If children or young adults traveling to one of these countries have already had the vaccine, they most likely do not need a booster. But the C.D.C.'s age recommendations are rough guidelines and everyone's immune system is different. If there are any concerns, consult a doctor, preferably a travel medicine specialist.
Do you have a health question? Submit your question to Ask Well.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Ask Well: New Questions About Polio Shots
Dengan url
http://healtybodyguard.blogspot.com/2014/05/ask-well-new-questions-about-polio-shots.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Ask Well: New Questions About Polio Shots
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Ask Well: New Questions About Polio Shots
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar