County Health department has recommended Vaccinations for Belize.. any comments?

[BearySweet2Cruise]

Received notification from our county health department that travel vacccinations are highly recommended if you are planning to go on any excursions not directly within the port (commercialized areas) and we were discussing the cave tubing in belize, which she stated we should have Hep A and Malaria meds due to the fact that it is an hour inland, and is a water activity, known for botflys and malaria carrying insects. Has any one else been vaccinated before going to the islands?

[brn2crz]

No,we were always told "in town" was fine..Even the caves...:confused:

 

Keep in mind that you will not be able to give blood for I think maybe a year,as well.

[Iamthesea]

We went to an island in Belize for sunning and swimming. Never saw any insects. They must not have been in season.;)

[crusinmama06]

WOW! I would probably have them done just to be on the safe side. Very scary though.

[Pink Pyrate]

went to belize a few years back with hubby and 10r old boy...we never got any vax. we went inland to the baboon sanctuary. it was hot...and great...and more hot lol. we just made sure we brought and used bug spray. i'm sure at night it's a different situation.

one of my gf's father is from belize. i've never heard anything about recc. vax before you go....but it's up to you...i'm not a dr.

have fun

[BearySweet2Cruise]

The did not say required they said highly recommended... Just gathering thoughts. Thanks a bunch!!:)

[ilv2cruis]

I have given bllod since we came home from Belize. They asked what cities and areas we had been in and I told them the port and cave tubing. They checked in their book and said I was fine to donate.

[Sue L]

Beary2,

 

Just curious how did your county health dept know you were going to Belize?

.

We went last year and didn't get any vax or meds. We went cave tubing which I would highly reccommend, it was a blast. Never even saw a bug!!

 

Sue

 

PS how is Katie doing on her tokens, I have been following her progress. I think you idea was wonderful

[BearySweet2Cruise]

The health department gave me info based on informing her what the ports of call were. She was not concerned about any port except belize and the fact of the river tubing... I am not that concerned either. I am not sure that the vaccinations are necessary, just trying to be sure. Would not want the kids sick. Katie needs to make posts on her thread. She is having a rough day today, and every thing is a hassle.. maybe to tomorrow will be better. Thanks for asking about Katie.

[spbflseas]

Did Belize a couple of years ago and had no problems and no vaccines. What may be of interest to this group is that the local blood bank will not allow you to donate blood if you have visted Costa Maya in the past year.

 

Go and enjoy Belize. It is beautiful.

[threeofus]

We went cave tubing last year.....didn't notice any bugs and we did not get vaccines. That's not to say we weren't lucky.

 

The anti malarial drugs are not without risk - check them out and then make your decision. You might check the CDC website or have your physician speak with the infectious disease specialist in your area.

[wrinklesandme]

DH is a regular blood and platelette donor. After our last cruise to Belize and Costa Maya he was banned for a year. Now we are going back to Belize. I will have him ask next time he's in to donate if Belize is on the list.

[hlfdzn]

I went in 2004 in feb and never saw a bug..went last May and did cave tubing and ate lunch there and never got sick. Belize has pretty clean water...they take pride in not sending sewage out to their rivers. The water in the river we cave tubed in was pretty clear with a rock bottom. Bot fly had me scared, but like I said..the only bugs we saw were some awesome leaf cutter ants walking in a row for most of the jungle walk.

[Twaincruisers]

We just returned from Guatemala, Costa Maya, and Belize. Since we were going to be touring ruins which often times we have found to be far into forested areas, we checked with the cdc site, our doctor, and the blood bank (we've given every two months for about 16 years). The blood bank uses the cdc yellow book; it was clear for Belize that if you left the city you would be banned from giving blood. As for the other two areas, areas at certain elevations would get one banned. We decided to do the malaria pills--we have the hep shots...you want those to eat out in Miami! We used repellent applied by wipes which worked rather well, but my wife was still bitten through her clothing! Baboon sanctuary was the worst for mosquitos, but we have been to other Mayan sites which had a lot of mosquitos because they were in shade. My wife has stomach problems each week we take the malaria pill. . . so I think it is good our cruise next week is to the Bahamas!

[zantedeschia]

Couple websites to try:

 

http://www.cdc.gov/travel/vaccinat.htm

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/travel_1744.html

[Monthend]

We just returned from Belize. We went ziplining and did not have a problem with bugs. We used deet and they did not bother us. One person on our trip did get bit badly though. She said she used a little spray.

[hlfdzn]

I can't remember where I read it, but I do remember being told to use 100% deet spray in Belize. I found it at Walmart in the sports section and it was called Sportsmans Off or something and it came in a tiny blue and clear pocket sized bottle. But I guess it all depends on which excursions you go on and what time of year. Last May when we went cave tubing one girl got a persistant rash, that nobody else who went in the water got. She thought it may have been from something on her tube. My sister in law is from Belize and said in the summer the bugs are awful, but so is the heat and humidity and I can't imagine wanting to visit a place like that in the summer. We watch a lot of the Learning channel and they had a program on there once about the different kinds of parasites you can get...was really creepy. Botfly and creeping nematodes....ewwwwwwwww..

[Tarheelbelle]

Check the CDC website posted above by zantedeschia. It will tell you which malaria med is needed for wherever you are traveling.

As for Hep A vaccination, that would protect you against the type of hepatitis that is transmitted through contaminated food or other things you ingest orally.

As a physician, I am pretty careful. I have done a lot of land-based travel in Africa and Central America, and I have had all of the usual vaccines [Hep B & A, meningitis, yellow fever, etc.]. I have always taken malaria preventatives when CDC recommended it. Even if you are using malaria meds, you still need to use adequate insect protection.

I think it depends upon your activities [caves/rivers, etc] and your comfort level.