Today I was vaccinated for a score of different tropical diseases that are seemingly as abundant as iPods in certain parts of the world. In addition to getting a prescription for a weekly anti-malarial regiment that I will begin taking when I reach Nepal and an emergency antibiotic in the event I come down with the kind of diarrhea that Dante described in his journey through the Inferno, I also received four shots and enough paperwork to dizzy an IRS agent. The good news is that now that I've received a polio booster shot, I'll never need to worry about contracting polio at home or abroad, which is a real load off my back. The bad news is that there's still a lot out there that can kill me, or any other person intrepid enough to travel the 3rd world. So I've decided to list the five most probable diseases that affect my trip, the countries you can get them in, and the prevention/treatment (or lack thereof).
#1: Malaria
Malaria is a parasite-based disease most commonly transmitted by mosquitos. Over 100 countries/territories and more than 40% of the world's population are at risk. The disease can cause kidney failure, seizures, mental confusion, coma, and death. Getting over the alarmism, most people who are affected by malaria have symptoms similar to the flu, and the disease is easy diagnosed. Preventative measure such as mosquito netting and DEET greatly reduce the likelihood of exposure, and there are a host of different medicines that can be taken that help to prevent the disease. The countries that I'll be visiting that pose a risk for malaria include: Nepal, Thailand (near the Cambodian border), Brazil, and Venezuela.
#2: Polio
A 1916 polio epidemic in the United States killed 6,000 people and paralyzed 27,000 more. The CDC has reported no wild polio cases (to be distinguished from their tamer, domesticated breeds) in the last 20 years, but here in the US every baby still receives a polio vaccine. Much like tigers and communism, polio has nearly been eradicated from the world, but can be found in certain jungle nations. While the Kingdom of Nepal refuses to officially fess up to it, the incidence of polio in northern India points to the possibility of coming across this debilitating virus during my journey. If you've been vaccinated at birth, a polio booster shot and a republican majority are all you need to ensure that you never need to worry about ending up like FDR.
#3: Yellow Fever
Thanks to this handy diagram I downloaded off WebMD, I hardly need to describe the symptoms of Yellow Fever. The saffron coloring of the skin or eyes is from jaundice, though other happy results of the virus include: organ system failure, vomiting blood, and, of course, death. I'll most likely come across Yellow Fever in Brazil, and without the two-stage immunization and certified proof, I would not be able to visit any other country after leaving the butt-shaking capital of the world.
#4: Typhoid
Mary Mallon was born in Irelend in 1869 and came to America at 16, working as a cook for wealthy families in Boston and New York. In the early 1900s, several family members came down with typhoid—a potentially deadly bacterial infection spread through food when a carrier doesn’t wash his or her hands after using the bathroom. Eventually a New York City typhoid researcher identified Mary as the source of all the infections. She denied having typhoid, but tests proved otherwise, and city health officials forced her into quarantine in a city hospital at North Brother Island in the East River. After leaving quarantine and promising not to handle food, she went back to work as a cook, promptly infecting more people. Eventually she was brought back to the island, where she lived out her life. Mary died in 1938, a celebrity for being a healthy carrier of a lethal bacteria. Having been a recipient of a typhoid vaccination, I can never hope to achieve such celebrity, though there's still hope for the denizens of Venezuela, Brazil, Thailand, and especially Nepal.
#5: Dengue Fever
The first time you get dengue fever, you may not even realize you've contracted it. The second time you get dengue fever, you'll have symptoms approximating a severe flu with the added bonus of hemophiliac-like tendencies toward blood-flow, bruising, and plasma leakage. The third time you get dengue fever you die. Much like malaria, dengue is primarily transmitted to humans by mosquitos, and as is evidenced by the above picture, many dengue-affected countries (of which there are approximately 100) are attempting to educate over-caffeinated employees of Home Depot to carry around brooms that they might be able to ward off the 4 foot mosquitoes that plague the countryside. But neither the prevalence of the disease, nor my lack of broom-to-insect combat experience is what concerns me about dengue. Dengue is far and away the disease I'm most worried about coming into contact with because there is no way to treat or vaccinate against it and it can kill you. Like AIDS with wings. So I'll be stocking up on plenty of mosquito netting, not to mention the kind of 97% DEET sprays that can eat through a pair of blue jeans in a mater of minutes. And a broom.
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