If you have ever seen a Chinese landscape painting, you know about the Middle Kingdom’s incredible scenery: Rushing streams, mountain peaks wreathed in mist, terraced farmland clinging to sides of hills. Hiking through this rural backcountry is an idyllic retreat from modern life. To safely travel and fully enjoy all of the beauty that China has to offer, proper vaccinations are a must, especially in less developed areas in which mosquito and insect-borne diseases are more common.

5 Tips for Exploring Rural China

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A trek up Mount Kilimanjaro is an outdoor enthusiast’s trip of a lifetime, but proper pre-travel medical care is crucial to be able to summit the peak!

Six Tips for Hiking Mount Kilimanjaro

More than 20,000 people attempt to reach the top of Mount Kilimanjaro each year. Make sure that you’re one of the people standing at the summit with these handy tips.

• Take your time. Most organized tours take four to six days to ascend and descend the mountain. This is a pretty physically taxing pace for most people. You will be less likely to wear yourself out if you choose a route and a program that takes more time for climbing up the mountain and climbing back down again.
• Be aware of the altitude changes. While the ascent isn’t particularly steep, the high altitude of the region makes the climb more stressful. Be sure to rest if you need it so that you can actually complete the trek.
• You should be prepared for the terrain itself. Mount Kilimanjaro is home to rainforests on the lower slopes, valleys dotted with flowers on the higher slopes and a barren landscape near the peak. Bring layers of clothing that can be taken off or put on as necessary.
• Climb with a group. Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is hard work, and you cannot expect to go it alone safely. Most people climb in a group with special guides who are local to the area.
• Visit a Travel Medicine Specialist. Finally, the best way to prepare yourself for trekking in Kenya and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is by setting a travel health appointment with a specialist in order to receive any shots that you might need before traveling.

Which Vaccinations Do I Need for Kenya?

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Name: Steven
Lives in: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Destination: San Marcos, El Salvador
Trip Date: May 2014

El Salvador is the smallest and most-densely populated country in Central America. Although crime and violence are serious problems in El Salvador, after taking proper precautions, foreigners safely travel to El Salvador each year for study, tourism, business and volunteer work, enjoying the culture and many sights that El Salvador has to offer. Steven recently visited El Salvador and shares his own experience below.

Passport Health: What parts of El Salvador did you visit and what was the purpose of your trip?
Steven: My main destination was San Marcos, El Salvador, but I visited and worked in the following cities: San Salvador, San Miguelito, Soyapango, Comasagua and the Volcano of San Salvador. I traveled as the Director of Evangelium & Apologia Ministries, a Christian para-church organization, and our purpose for the trip was for missions, the propagation of the Christian faith, while strategically, in effect, re-orienting youth’s lives towards peace and progress instead of commonplace violence and crime.

Passport Health: Did you travel alone, with family/friends, or with a group?
Steven: I traveled with my wife, Cindy, and two colleagues, Filipe of Edmonton, Alberta, and Ciby of Atlanta, Georgia.

Passport Health: Do you have any previous experience with travel abroad?
Steven: This was my first time leaving North America.

Passport Health: How did the daily life of the locals differ from the life you live back home?
Steven: The daily life of the locals is very different in comparison to Canada. Where in North America it’s common to have a closed home, in El Salvador it’s a luxury. For example, many parts of the homes are uncovered by roofs, such as the main hall, bathrooms, and corridors. It’s open air which allows wildlife to enter the house on a consistent basis.

Security and safety is another concern, no one is safe in their neighborhoods. Police and military soldiers often patrol the streets with machine guns, shot guns, and grenades. The violence and crime has spilled into every street due to the on-going wars between the national crime gangs (“The Maras” and the “MS-13”), and the federal government. Foreigners are targeted and killed for their money on a regular basis, even locals must mind their own business and seek the safest route in groups. Approximately 10 cars are stolen each day, which has led to increased poverty and debt.

Another difference is the quality of life regarding hygiene, where bathrooms are always un-attached to homes, no water is clean and drinkable unless it’s bottled and from the supermarket, and when the water supply runs out in the homes, showers often then involve buckets of filthy water.

Passport Health: Did you eat any local delicacies or interesting foods during your trip?
Steven: I had the opportunity of eating the national delicacy of Pupusas, soft tortillas filled with chicharon (pork), cheese, beans, and other combinations. Even local fruits such as Nances which are not commonly found to be imported into Canada are extremely sweet exotic fruits.

Passport Health: Was the weather any different than in your hometown, and if so, was it challenging to acclimate?
Steven: There was a difference, where Toronto is often colder during the spring season, but El Salvador nation-wide often hangs around the 35 degree Celsius mark, but drastically drops to 16 degrees overnight. The fast changing climate from day to night is challenging because you don’t know how to dress, whether to bring a sweater or to go sleeveless.

Passport Health: What was the most memorable experience during your trip?
Steven: My most memorable experience was speaking to schools in the cities of San Jacinto and San Miguelito, where over 200 students attended a lecture where I spoke on the temptations of youth to leave the school system and incorporate with the national crime gangs. I encouraged them to continue investing in their futures, to follow their dreams in their pursuit of professions, and to get them connected with a church where they can live virtuous lives building up and improving their communities under biblical teachings and local leaders. Their response was overwhelmingly positive, and having brought 50 New Testament Bibles for distribution, students were desperate for a copy, but our supply could not meet the vast demand.

Passport Health: Did you find any cultural similarities between El Salvador and Toronto?
Steven: I grew up in a Latino background. My mother is Ecuadorian and my father is Portuguese, so culturally everything is the way I was raised. It is for this reason that I did not experience a culture shock.

Passport Health: What was most surprising about your trip?
Steven: The most surprising aspect of my trip was seeing how tense busy streets were, and how scary desolate streets are. No matter where you are, there are always heavily armed men guarding properties and public streets. Even military soldiers patrolling highways with armored vehicles can be intimidating.

Passport Health: What places of interest or activities do you recommend in El Salvador?
Steven: I recommend visiting the beaches of El Salvador. The volcanic sand throughout the beaches makes it a black beach, a very unique scenery. What I would also recommend is visiting the Mayan ruins for educational and touristic purposes. But above all, I would recommend visiting local churches and volunteering to help with meeting the needs of their communities.

Passport Health: How did your trip impact the way you view life abroad?
Steven: It opened my eyes. We take life, security, clean water, and our citizenship for granted. In fact, we worry about acquiring our wants, when there are countless of families worried about whether they can afford their next meal.

Are you planning a trip to El Salvador or another country? Be sure you are healthy and prepared for your adventure by scheduling a visit with a travel health specialist before you go.

So Many Vaccination and Healthcare Options

Many people today take advantage of the myriad options available for obtaining vaccinations and other healthcare services. On-site clinics provided by an employer and the availability of certain vaccines at a local pharmacy or health department are common examples of the decentralized healthcare options available to the modern consumer. Due to circumstance and convenience, consumers increasingly receive vaccines from these alternative options, instead of receiving them from a primary care physician. Indeed, moves to new cities and states are a more common part of modern life than at any time in the past, which makes finding and maintaining a PCP relationship even more challenging. Many adults today do not have a primary care physician in the first place (in fact, according to HealthCentral.com, the average person will see nearly 20 doctors during his or her lifetime!), and, even if a person is one of the few with a PCP, not all healthcare providers offer all potentially needed vaccinations, meaning that multiple sources may be necessary to complete the required and recommended vaccinations for various life events such as starting a new job or school year or a visit to a foreign country. It is no exaggeration to say that having all immunizations administered by one provider is virtually impossible, and having all medical records maintained in one place is just as challenging.

The Importance of Maintaining Your Vaccination History

When your personal vaccination history is unclear, you forfeit the security of knowing your health is protected as it best can be. Additionally, if vaccination records are not properly maintained, you may risk paying unnecessarily for a previously administered vaccination or an antibody titer test, which measure the level of disease antibodies (and hence immunity) in a blood sample. Although convenient and preferable to unnecessary vaccinations, it is not enough to rely on titer tests as a replacement for properly maintained records.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices regularly reviews and updates the recommended vaccination schedules. Many vaccinations require multiple doses with varying dosing schedules, and following this complicated schedule is imperative for maximum protection and immunity. However, the best way to follow this schedule of vaccination best practices is to properly and accurately maintain record of vaccinations already received. Unfortunately, without a central solution for your vaccination records, record maintenance and schedule adherence is incredibly complicated, and you risk your health being compromised as a result.

What is a Vaccine Registry?

Many states and health organizations offer vaccine registries, which are central databases where important vaccination history is stored for ease of access by health professionals. However, even in states that have a system established, guidelines vary, utilization and maintenance of the database is not always required, and taking control of vaccination records often falls back on the patient.

For many, the days of relying on a doctor’s office to maintain all of your medical and vaccination records are a thing of the past, if ever even experienced at all. With the idea of falling back on a single PCP quickly becoming an antiquated and unrealistic option, it is important to seek a trusted solution for your important vaccination records.

Luckily, a trusted solution exists. Passport Health’s proprietary Vaccine Registry not only provides a reliable record keeping solution, but it also facilitates the record sharing process, for both individuals and employers. Records may be added as needed to your medical profile and easily shared with those with a need to know, such as medical professionals or your employer, solely through your expressed consent to release records. Passport Health’s Vaccine Registry provides convenience and peace of mind, is completely free for clients to use, and, crucially, it empowers you to take control of your health through safeguarded and updated records.

Sources
Annals of Internal Medicine: Article on Recommended Immunization Schedule
Health Central: Article on Multiple Providers Seen Per Person
Passport Health: Vaccine Credentialing Management

Great success has been made in combating Polio in Southeast Asia. However, that does not mean global efforts to combat this devastating disease can be relaxed. Indeed, the UN has labelled the current Polio outbreak in the war-torn Middle East the “Greatest Polio Challenge in History.”

What Is the Situation?

Polio is a deadly viral infection that can paralyze or even kill those who are affected by it. In most countries, vaccination against polio begins in infancy, and booster doses are administered throughout childhood. Booster doses can be given to adults who work in laboratory setting or who travel to regions where Polio is endemic. The virus has been eradicated from most Western countries including Canada and the United States, but there is still a long, hard fight ahead for public health officials if they want to achieve a Polio-free world.

While Polio has recently been eliminated in Southeast Asia, outbreaks of the disease have been appearing in the Middle East. This is a source of great concern for public health officials. Cases of Polio have been reported in Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. These reports are alarming as it means that instability in the region is preventing health specialists and officials from eradicating the deadly disease. In addition, communities in some of these areas have rebuffed the efforts of vaccination workers, sometimes with violence, due to a mistaken assumption that the Polio vaccine causes sterility, low testosterone and other problems.

Why Does War Facilitate the Spread of Disease?

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