Health comfortable with imported vaccines, get yourself or your child vaccinated when visiting home or another country. However, be sure to plan ahead to get the second dose within 18 months.
Meningitis There are many types of meningitis, a severe bacterial disease, but there are only vaccines for four: A (typically found in Asia and Africa), C (found in Western countries), W, and Y (both typically found in Middle Eastern countries). In the US, there is a meningococcal vaccine that protects against all four strains; in other countries, this is not the case. In China, children are routinely vaccinated against meningitis from a young age, but these vaccines only protect against types A and C. “The risk of contracting meningitis in China is rather low, as China has a high level of meningococcal immunization,” says Dr. Fellay. It’s still a good idea to get vaccinated, especially for teenagers heading off to university. In fact, many universities in the US require students be vaccinated before attending. “The disease is most prevalent in young people,” Dr. Tan Ngo explains. “I usually advise that a child get vaccinated if he hasn’t [already], as meningitis is debilitating.” In China, the shot that prevents against both A and C may be available in limited quantities as an imported vaccine, but the type that protects against A, C, W, and Y, is not available. The number of shots and followup boosters depend on which type of vaccine you’re getting.
Japanese Encephalitis Though there is generally a low risk of contracting Japanese encephalitis in Beijing, the disease is endemic to China. Both doctors agree it is worth considering. This mosquito-borne illness is an infection of the brain covering. There is no treatment for the disease itself, only for its symptoms, which include high fever, disorientation, coma, and tremors. “It’s a severe disease that can result in physical and mental disabilities,” says Dr. Fellay, though it is fatal in one in four cases. The vaccine is available as a local immunization. The American CDC recommends it for travelers who are planning to spend more than one month in an area with endemic Japanese encephalitis, especially if they will be traveling outside of urban centers. Additionally, those visiting forests, fields, or pastures during the summer tick season in China should consider vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis.
Parents: Get Your Updates Dr. Fellay recommends that adults around the age of 30 get an update on their pertussis (or whooping cough) vaccine, especially if they are around infants. Dr. Tan Ngo concurs. She explains that the Td vaccine, which covers tetanus and diphtheria, used to be given as a routine immunization. Now, children are routinely inoculated with Tdap, which includes pertussis. Pertussis is highly contagious and causes serious, occasionally life-threatening complications in infants younger than 1. In the US, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices now recommends that pregnant women receive the Tdap vaccine. If you’re planning to have a baby soon, talk to your doctor about whether you need a Tdap update. Dr. Tan Ngo recommends that prospective parents also ensure they are up-to-date on their rubella vaccine, which is given in conjunction with the MMR vaccine (the immunization for measles and mumps). Rubella is dangerous for pregnant women and can cause a host of birth defects. Prospective mothers and pregnant women should get their rubella antibody tested to see if they require a booster, continues Dr. Tan Ngo.
Imported Vaccines In China, regulations over imported vaccines have become very strict. The list of available imported vaccines can change rapidly from day to
day. Vaccine manufacturing practices have improved vastly in recent years, but talk to you doctor if you have any concerns about available vaccines. If you’re worried about domestic vaccines, the last thing you should do is try to sneak some back from your home country. Not only is this illegal, it’s also forbidden for doctors in Beijing to inject anyone with unofficially-imported vaccines.
“The controversy surrounding vaccines is as old as vaccines themselves” The Anti-Vax Movement The controversy surrounding vaccines is as old as vaccines themselves. Some believe that vaccines are not safe and can cause developmental delays or even autism. However, Dr. Tan Ngo points out that there is no study linking vaccines to autism, and that autism has no known single cause. A famous 1998 article by Dr. Andrew Wakefield linked the MMR vaccine to autism and bowel disease, but was later proven to be grossly falsified. Wakefield had been paid to find evidence against the vaccine and had a financial stake in his findings. His study was retracted and labeled an “elaborate fraud” by The British Medical Journal. A later study by the US Institute of Medicine found that “the MMR vaccine doesn’t cause autism, and the evidence is overwhelming that it doesn’t.” Vaccines can cause adverse reactions. Usually, these reactions present as a low fever and soreness and swelling at the site of injection. Serious adverse reactions, however, like anaphylactic shock, are extremely rare. If you are worried, talk to your doctor and be sure to inform them if you or your child have ever had an adverse reaction to a vaccine.
Resources International SOS 国际救援中心 Daily 9am-6pm. Suite 105, Wing 1, Kunsha Building, 16 Xinyuanli, Chaoyang District (Clinic 6462 9112, 24hr hotline 6462 9100, china.inquiries@internationalsoschina.com) www.internationalsos.com, www.clinicsinchina.com 朝阳区新源里16号琨 莎中心座105室 Vista Medical Center 维世达诊所 Daily 24hrs. 3/F, Kerry Center, 1 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District (8529 6618, vista@vista-china.net) www.vistachina.net 朝阳区 光华路1号嘉里中心3层 Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) www.cdc.gov World Health Organization (WHO) www.who.int The History of Vaccines www.historyofvaccines.org The Institute of Medicine: Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality tinyurl.com/n3w6a9d My Health Beijing – Vaccines Review: Few Major Side Effects – and No Autism tinyurl.com/ka3ryv4
August 2013
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