Destination Mexico:
Travel Health Information.
Summary of recommendations:
The best road for being a healthy traveler is to have a consultation (at least one month in advance) with a TRAVEL MEDICINE SPECIALIST, who can inform you about your needs… (Travel Clinic Directory worldwide in www.istm.org)
Use sunscreen, minimize sun exposure.
1. Malaria.
Nowadays, Malaria in Mexico is confined to small and patchy rural areas in Southern border in Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Michoacan, mountainous northern areas of Jalisco and Nayarit. There is no Malaria risk in major resorts along the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coast. Chloroquine-sensitive Plasmodium vivax is responsible >99%, P. falciparum only in border areas to Belize and Guatemala.
2. Immunization.
Vaccines for Your Protection in Mexico
- Hepatitis A. Recommended for all travelers.
- Typhoid Fever. Recommended for all travelers.
- Hepatitis B. For traveler visiting the country more than 6 month, those with pre-existing medical conditions, pregnant or may become pregnant abroad,
- Tetanus/Diphtheria booster. Recommended for all travelers.
- Rabies. For traveler who may have direct contact with animals and may not access to medical care.
- Pneumoccocus & Influenza according to age and medical conditions.
Expanded information:
http://www.healthylivinginmexico.com/
recommendedvaccinesformexico.htm
3. Traveler’s Diarrhea.
1. Consume safe water and food. Eat foods that are freshly cooked and served piping hot and to avoid water and beverages diluted with water (reconstituted fruit juices, ice, milk) and foods washed in water, such as salads. BOIL IT, COOK IT, PEEL IT OR FORGET IT!
2. Hand washing after the toilet and before eating.
3. Keep Hydrated / Oral Rehydration Therapy
Read:
http://www.healthylivinginmexico.com/
travelersdiarrhea.htm
4. Travel Accident.
- Seatbelt restrain for all passengers in the car.
- No cellular phone while driving (included hands-free phones).
- When driving in a foreign country travelers avoid alcohol, fatigue, jet-lag, all night-driving.
- Never drive or ride on a moped or motorbike in a foreign country
- Avoid overcrowded public transport.
- Never swim at an unmarked or unguarded beach
- Have your car and you with a Insurance Company
More information:
http://www.healthylivinginmexico.com/travelaccidents.htm
5. Avoid mosquito & tick bites and be aware of Dengue Fever.
- Avoid mosquito & bug bites.
- Use repellent, Products containing diethyltoluamide (DEET) are considered to be most effective.
- protective clothing,
- use pyrethrin insecticides.
Click on:
http://www.healthylivinginmexico.com/dengue.htm
6. Tuberculosis.
- A tuberculin skin test is recommended before departure and after one year living in a country with Tuberculosis.
Review:
http://www.healthylivinginmexico.com/tuberculosis.htm
7. Emerging Diseases.
Be aware of Gnathostoma and Anisakiasis.
- Keep on Healthy Eating Habits.
- Avoid raw or undercook fish & Poultry e.g. Ceviche in Mexico, Sashimi in Japan, SUM-FAK in Thailand.
- Gnasthostomiasis (roundworms) has increased in Mexico.
(More information: http://www.cdc.gov/travel/camerica.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/
parasites/gnathostoma/default.htm)
Anisakiasis:
Geographic Distribution:
1. Worldwide, with higher incidence in areas where raw fish is eaten (e.g., Japan, Pacific coast of South America, the Netherlands).
2. Clinical Features:
Within hours after ingestion of infected larvae, violent abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting may occur. Occasionally the larvae are coughed up. If the larvae pass into the bowel, a severe eosinophilic granulomatous response may also occur 1 to 2 weeks following infection, causing symptoms mimicking Crohn's disease.
8. Be aware of Venomous Animals in Jalisco/Nayarit
 
- African Bee (“Africanized”) Be aware of an allergic reaction/ have an EPIPEN.
- Scorpions
- Elegans, noxius, infamatus, tecomanus
- Spider
- Black-Widow and Brown-Recluse
- Snakes
- Crotalus, Rattlesnake - Marine Serpent Pelamis platurus.
- Agkistrodon – “Zolcuate” Moccasins ,“Coralillo”
- Lizard
- Heloderma horridum (Gila Monster’s cousin )
9. Be aware of Water-Borne Infections.
- The genus Aeromonas consists of ubiquitous Gram negative rods that are widely distributed in freshwater, estuarine, and marine environments worldwide
- Vibrio vulnificus may infect skin that is injured in brackish water by scraping against rocks or stepping on organisms with hard shells.
- Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae infection
10. Skin Parasites
Dietary/occupational exposure or ingestion
- Larva Migrans / Creeping eruption
This parasite is found in dog and cat faeces and is able to penetrate the outer layers of the skin and creep around underneath the skin.
Excellent Source of more Information:
http://www.mdtravelhealth.com/destinations/
mamerica_carib/mexico.html
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