Costa Rica Vaccines?
 

I don't remember getting vaccines last time I went to Costa Rica. Three doctors three different opinions. My kids pediatrician gave them Typhoid, Hepatitis A and a tetanus update. My doctor wants me to have Hep A and Tetanus booster. My husband's doctor wants to charge him $500 to get a Typhoid and Tetanus shot (insurance won't cover that). Arrghh. Just curious what most people get before going to Costa Rica

I only got hep A before going; that's the only thing my MD recommended.

I haven't got any personally in 10 years of traveling there, but I did not ask my Dr either. Wow, $500 for a shot!!

Just a Tetanus booster & only because I was there on a mission trip working.

Go to any farmacia HERE.
Your husbands doctor and you pharmas are thieves.
Fly in. Grab a taxi and head to the closest farmacia, which will be staffed with a GP.
My pneumonia vaccine cost me $16.INSTALLED !

mdtravelhealth.com CR for correct CDC info

your MDs are "churning" you to death

and ODing you and your kids with vaccination overload

Hep A is all you need other

than usual childhood immunizations.

Use intelligent food and water precautions

odds are overwhelming you will be fine no worries.

Here's the link to the CDC recommendations.

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinat...osta-rica.aspx

There is an oral form of the typhoid vaccine (for those old enough to be able to swallow large tablets). It's effective for five years, as opposed to two years for the injectable.

People any where in the world should be up to date on their tetanus vaccine. In the last few years, there is a new formulation which also includes vaccine against pertussis (whooping cough). Before this came on the market the last dose of whooping cough vaccine was given to kids before they entered kindergarten. Hence, large outbreaks off whooping cough in the preteen age group a couple of years ago.

Healthy older kids and adults survive whooping cough with few problems, just like a cold with a nasty cough. The danger is for young infants. Those who are too young to have been vaccinated. They sometimes die from the disease. Huge push to have both parents vaccinated before newborn infants are sent home from the hospital.

As for Hepatitis A, it's endemic in Mexico and Central America. That means it's always around. Easily transmitted. No matter how meticulous your personal hygiene may be, you are only as safe the person preparing and serving your food.

Off my soapbox now......

I have lived and traveled in Costa Rica for many years. I have never gotten any kind of hepatitis vaccine or anything else other than a tetanus booster - I owned a farm for years.

What you get and where you get it is up to you. No one can tell you what to do with this. As you can see from this forum, there are lots of opinions and they are just that.

My opinion is that you don't need anything and I would imagine most of the 2 million tourists a year who come here don't get vaccinations.

But -- only you can decide what is best for you and your family.

PS There is no typhoid in Costa Rica.

Thanks everyone. I know we did not get vaccines last time but my neighbor just left for two weeks with all sorts of vaccines and even malaria pills. I was kind of stunned. And then our pediatrician insisted on vaccines for the kids and so i did end up getting a tetanus booster and a Hep A vaccine today. My neighbor had Hep A and she is always tired....that would kind of suck so I figured while I got the tetanus booster, why not just get the other shot at the same time. Probably overkill, but I live in NYC, the land of neurotics.
Good to know about typhoid.

Although it's been a few years since I was last in Costa Rica, there was an outbreak of malaria around Jaco while we were in the country.

Mostly young kids sleeping on the beach.

Travel or not, if it's been 10 years since your last tetanus shot, you should get one. Everybody should.

There were no cases of malaria in Costa Rica in 2010.

Do you have any links to support no cases in 2010? I couldn't find any data that was that recent. Other years there were several hundred to several thousand cases. No deaths though.

If you can be sure of good water and hygiene where you eat, you probably don't need typhoid or HepA.

Dengue is a bigger risk than malaria. Use insect repellent during the day.

There is a moderate malaria risk in some rural areas of Limon Province.
http://www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk/...laria-map.aspx

Details from the UK travel advice website, which also has good advice on crime avoidance:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-...ta-rica#health

It does depend on what part of Costa Rica you'll be visiting.

Our pediatrician goes by the CDC information. We did not need any vaccines for Costa Rica two years ago, but things do change, so check the CDC for the most updated info.

For Panama however, we went to Bocas Del Toro. The CDC recommended malaria meds and we all took them.

Does CR require any documentation of vaccines to enter the country? I have not read anything that states they do, but, now I am anxious about that.

Thanks

The only documentation you would need to enter Costa Rica would be for yellow fever vaccine. That would only apply if you were traveling from a country where yellow fever is known to be present, and, I think, had traveled to that country within ten days.

For example, if you were coming from Colombia, you may be asked for proof of vaccine.

murphy - no. (At least on entry from the US.)

JeanH - if you will go to the Ministry of Health website in Costa Rica, you will see that there were no cases of malaria reported in Costa Rica in 2010.

For previous years, I don't know where you get "thousands." The past two years, there was one area, deep in Limon Province (think jungle) where tourists don't go. You would only be in danger if you were a researcher or biologist traveling to that area.

No vaccines necessary if arriving from the US or Canada. As jeanh said - if you arrive from certain countries in South America, you would need to have the yellow fever vaccine. And you would need to have the vaccine more than ten days from your arrival. The locations of yellow fever change so early last year, if you were at a couple of locations in Argentina, you would need it but not the rest of the country.

So... as far as vaccines for Costa Rica go -- you can believe the CDC or the Costa Rican Ministry of Health. And I would think not twice, but THREE times before giving anyone malaria meds as a preventive. The side effects can be pretty bad.

As I have said before -- everyone will need to make their own decision about this because everyone is different and their situations are different. Of the two million tourists who visit Costa Rica each year, I would guess that very few of them get any kind of vaccine.