Oftentimes international travel becomes necessary for seniors. But before starting their travel, seniors need to ensure that they have required vaccinations to protect them from diseases, illness, and other health issues when they are traveling and are in another country. Let us look at a few details that seniors need to keep note of to avoid facing health problems when traveling to a different country.
Different Types of Vaccination Seniors Should Take Before Their International Travel
Go for Pre Travel Counseling
Before overseas travel it will be necessary to perform thorough risk assessments to have the assurance that you will not face issues while traveling.
Such counseling will be necessary since with age it becomes important to consider several details, including:
- Any existing health conditions
- Vaccine responsiveness and other associated risks
- Waning immunity
- Likelihood of changes in senior’s cognitive functions
- Interaction between different drugs
Decline in Protective Efficacy of Vaccines
It is worth mentioning here that with age our immune system becomes weak and goes through significant changes which are known as immunosenescence.
This results in the reduction of the protective efficacy of any vaccinations that seniors take and in addition, the duration of the protection that they provide also goes down.
Vaccination for Yellow Fever
The side effects of yellow fever vaccination are rare but seniors face a greater risk of such side-effects. Two adverse reactions of yellow fever vaccination that seniors need to be wary of are viscerotropic disease and the neurologic disease.
In addition, vaccination clinics in Montreal should consider all the risks and advantages on a patient basis before suggesting the yellow fever vaccination.
Due to these reasons it is important to analyze different factors before yellow fever vaccination is recommended to seniors. These factors include:
- Chances of transmission of the disease at the place where the senior will be traveling.
- Probability of exposure to mosquitoes.
- Duration for which travel is being scheduled.
- Any plans related to re-visit to endemic location in future.
Vaccination for Hepatitis A
Apart from the flu vaccine and tetanus shot, seniors should ideally get 2 doses of vaccination for Hepatitis A.
You need to keep note of the fact that the Hepatitis A virus results in only a mild form of illness in small children. But, un-vaccinated people face a greater risk of exposure with chances of severe illness. In addition, seniors face an even greater mortality and morbidity rate.
It is worth mentioning here that the seroprotection rate in young people is 100%, while it is 65% for seniors after the 1st round of vaccination. After a booster dose is given, the seroprotection remains at 100% and the protection level for seniors goes up to 97% from 65%.
This clearly highlights the fact that it is necessary for seniors to get two doses before their travel to increase the efficacy of the vaccination.
Vaccination for Rabies
As per estimates made by WHO, almost 99% of all cases of rabies in humans result from being bitten by an infected dog.
Before seniors are given vaccinations for rabies, it is necessary to carry out risk assessments to judge pre-exposure for elderly travelers. A few of the details that are to be included in risk assessments consist of:
- Risk of outdoor exposure
- Medical care access in foreign country
- Rabies endemicity in location senior would be traveling
Rabies vaccine is known to provide seroconversion with more than ninety-four percent efficacy. In addition, studies show that neutralizing antibodies remains effective for a longer time period after a senior is given a post exposure or pre exposure vaccination for rabies.
Vaccination for Typhoid
If seniors are traveling to any endemic region then receiving a vaccination for typhoid will be necessary. Studies show that the vaccination provides 65-80% effectiveness in travelers going to such locations.
As such, from this vaccination seniors will receive moderate protection while traveling to such locations.
Vaccination for Meningococcal
Elderly travelers may need to receive a vaccination for meningococcal while traveling to endemic regions. This is due to the fact that the rate of incidence varies greatly and depends primarily on travel destination.
As such, it is necessary for seniors to take preventive vaccination at the time they plan their travel to a foreign country.
Vaccination for Polio
It will be necessary to provide documentation showing that you have received the polio vaccination when traveling to any of the endemic regions of the world.
Efforts are being made to completely eradicate polio from every part of the world, but we still hear about incidences of polio in some countries. As such, it is necessary for senior travelers to take multivalent vaccinations that contain antigens for polio, pertussis, diphtheria, and a tetanus shot.
It has been noticed that after taking the booster vaccination, the concentration of antibodies were well-above the required levels in seniors and were sufficient to provide protection from polio.
Vaccination for Japanese Encephalitis
Before traveling, seniors should receive the vaccine for Japanese Encephalitis, in case they will be going to any endemic region.
It occurs mainly in kids but seniors are also susceptible to this disease since their natural immunity goes down with time. By receiving the required vaccination, elders get seroprotection of as much as 65% for a time span of 42 days, post second dose of the vaccine.
Vaccination for Influenza and Pneumococcal Pneumonia
Influenza is a type of infection that can be prevented by administering proper vaccination. Receiving a flu vaccine is important for seniors, since the chances of acquiring influenza are quite high while traveling because of the limited scope of hand washing and travel in crowded planes.
Similarly, community acquired pneumonia such as Streptococcus Pneumoniae affects seniors and as such vaccinations are necessary for traveling seniors.