# Vaccination for kids



## LarsH (Mar 26, 2014)

We're moving to DF and are in the process of getting visas and shots. We're told we need Yellow Fever. It was also suggested we get rabies vaccination for the kids because of stray dogs. I've spent a lot of time as a kid and adult in Asia and Africa and while I've seen mangy mean dogs, I've never been attacked or bitten.

1 Are rabid dogs an issue in DF and the rest of Mexico?
2 Did you get a rabies vaccination?

Thanks


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

Here in San Luis Potosi and in Mexicali and Tijuana I find the street dogs, even the large ones, immune to people and simply walk down the street and don´t AVOID ANYONE OR DON´T ANNOY ANYONE. JUST PART OF THE SIDEWALK TRAFFic and usually have a few human friends they like to visit or hang out with. I have never seen any street dog aggressive against any human, now people´s trained to be aggressive dogs, yes they can be dangerous if off their leash or escaped from their yard.

Rabies vaccine, I don´t think so. Yellow fever vaccine, are you kidding? This is not deepest Africa you know. Maybe a tuberculosis vaccination might be recommended by a few specialists once here.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Here is the USA Center for Disease Control advisory regarding recommended vaccines for Mexico:

Health Information for Travelers to Mexico - Traveler view | Travelers' Health | CDC


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## GARYJ65 (Feb 9, 2013)

LarsH said:


> We're moving to DF and are in the process of getting visas and shots. We're told we need Yellow Fever. It was also suggested we get rabies vaccination for the kids because of stray dogs. I've spent a lot of time as a kid and adult in Asia and Africa and while I've seen mangy mean dogs, I've never been attacked or bitten.
> 
> 1 Are rabid dogs an issue in DF and the rest of Mexico?
> 2 Did you get a rabies vaccination?
> ...


Who told you that?
Where will you live in Mexico? How old are your kids?

No, dogs are not meaner in Mexico


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

AlanMexicali said:


> Rabies vaccine, I don´t think so. Yellow fever vaccine, are you kidding? This is not deepest Africa you know.


Good comment, Alan. Since moving to Mexico in 2007, I have never shots of any kind and it has never been suggested that I do so.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

"What’s next for TB Prevention
Over the last few years, Mexico has truly become a pioneer in advocacy, communication and social mobilization for TB in Latin America. More people with TB were diagnosed and enrolled in treatment, and improved coordination between TB, Diabetes and HIV/AIDS programs has led to better integrated services. Many jurisdictions increased diagnosis of TB cases by improving the quality of care and introducing advocacy, communication, and social mobilization tools.

PCI has built a reputation for its unique approach to TB, which involves strengthening the overall system for TB prevention and control at local, state, and national levels, and promoting a person-centered model.

Adapted from the MEASURE Evaluation Brief released by USAID in August 2012, “Two Nations Tackle Tuberculosis: USAID Legacy in Mexico.”"


Turning the Tide on Tuberculosis in Mexico

This is why I mentioned TB vaccinations in Mexico.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Well, that was good for a laugh. Just come, live, enjoy. It is not the 1500s.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Rabbies.

Mexican authority are very watchful of rabbies . I would not give the kids rabbies vac.. First of all I would teach them not to approach does they do not know but rabbies is not an issue here.

We live in the Jalisco and the next village has caves with bats . A puppy got bitten by a bat and died.
Imediately the authorities were on it and there was a lot of talk about rabbies, it came out that in our area there has not been a case of rabbies from a dog to a human for many many years and there was no danger of it.
Despite this the authorities discussed gathering all the dogs on the street, keeping them 3 days for the owners to come and get them and make sure they had rabbies short and exterminate all the remaining dogs. There was a huge oucry and when they had to come up for the last case of rabbies it was something like 20 years ago.
Yo are going to be in a city so you are at even less risks than we are. JUst trained the children not to approach dogs rather than have them get the shots.

Yellow fever
in Mexico city..NO 
We have dengue in some cities from mosquitoes and in some place way ou in the south in remote areas once in a great while maleria but not in the places where most people go.
DO not give them yellow fever they do not need it.

Teach the kids if they do not already know not to touch spiders as we have black widow and we also have scorpions but I would think that in a city you would not have any. You can always ask your neighbors or the school when you are here.

We really have very fw things that are dangerous..except for the water in some place..


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

I'm presuming you and the kids have your routine vaccinations up to date (tetanus, etc.), as well as the standard recommended shots for Mexico:
*1. Hepatitis A
2. Hepatitis B
3. Typhoid *- This is only effective for 3 years if you get the injected vaccine, 5 years if taking the oral (Vivotif). 

The injected typhoid vaccine is a bit more protective than the oral, even though it doesn't last as long. I did get sick with typhoid once in Mexico (along with my sister-in-law who is from there) - I was a couple of years overdue on my booster dose... Typhoid is not pleasant, especially if you get a post-typhoid reactive arthritis like I did. Now I make sure I keep it up to date. 

*Yellow Fever:* As others have said, absolutely no indication for this vaccine in Mexico. I suspect the person who said you need yellow fever thinks that Mexico is in "South America" as so many do. Many South American countries do have Yellow Fever transmission (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina - also Panama in Central America.)
*
Rabies: *Although as stated on the CDC Traveler's Health Website (see Longford's link - this is also my go-to website for all travel vaccine recommendations around the world) the threshold for vaccinating children against rabies is lower than for adults, it is still highly unlikely that the kids would need it in Mexico City. If you are going to spend an extended time in remote, rural areas or are into adventure travel like caving - where you might be in contact with bats - it might be reasonable to get, but otherwise probably not needed.

*TB:* The TB vaccine is "BCG" - in Mexico this is given at birth, with no booster. The BCG vaccine has variable efficacy, and I haven't seen any recommendation for giving it to unvaccinated children who move to Mexico from elsewhere. You could always check with the local Health Unit when you arrive in Mexico.

Of course many people don't worry about keeping their vaccines up-to-date and they don't get sick. However, when you - or worse, your kids - are one of the unlucky ones who do pick up something like typhoid or Hep A, you will really regret not having simply gotten the shot.

*Meningitis*: I presume that your kids have already been vaccinated against this in the US or in Sweden. But make sure they have gotten the vaccine that covers several strains - A, C, Y and W - not just Meningitis C, which is the only strain covered by the routine meningitis vaccine given in some countries. If they have only gotten the Meningitis C vaccine, it is still OK to give them the vaccine for Meningitis ACYW. (I know the brand names in Canada, not sure in US or Sweden).


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

I’ve never heard of kids in DF being recommended to get rabies vaccination.

Here is our experience with rabies and kids in Mexico City. Some 10 or 12 years ago, when my daughter was in _secundaria_, a small dog got into the school and was running around the courtyard during Monday civics exercises. It was scared, and nipped my daughter on the finger. 

The school called us and we came and got her, and they told us to take her to the public health clinic. At the clinic, they gave her gamma globulin, but said she wouldn’t need rabies unless the dog turned out to be rabid. The dog, meanwhile, had been picked up and taken to _control canino_, and the doctor at the public health clinic told us to check with the dog pound every other day to see if it had developed rabies. It turned out to be clean, but was put down after the rabies waiting period was over, since no one claimed it (poor little guy). So my daughter didn’t have to get rabies shots.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

interesting because the only way to quickly check a dog for rabies is by examining its brains so the dog has to be put down first.
I guess they were not very concerned that the dog had rabies otherwise they would not have waited...


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## LarsH (Mar 26, 2014)

Thanks for the info. I think the yellow fever vaccination got thrown in the list because of probable travel to South America. I was skeptical of the rabies vaccination (which is why I asked). We'll be in FD most of the time, though we do want to see as much of the country as school breaks permit. 
Cheers


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

Re the dog that bit my daughter, I believe they were waiting for symptoms. The doctor at the clinic first told us to keep the dog isolated and give it food and water, and observe it for symptoms. I told him it wasn't ours, and it had been taken away by _control canino_, and it was then that he said, oh, in that case, go and check with them at least every other day, and if it develops rabies, bring her back immediately for the rabies vaccination.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

LarsH said:


> Thanks for the info. I think the yellow fever vaccination got thrown in the list because of probable travel to South America. I was skeptical of the rabies vaccination (which is why I asked). We'll be in FD most of the time, though we do want to see as much of the country as school breaks permit.
> Cheers


FD? Oh, you mean the D.F., correct?


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

yes Maesona I understood the post pefectly but my reaction was that they did not think the dog had rabies or they would have tested it immediately.

I spoke with a lot of vets and the head vet who runs the institude for rabies control in Jalisco at the time and he told me that they have not seen a case of rabies to human for years in our case in Jalisco so they do keep the dog and watch if there is any sign of rabies but they only do that when they are not really worried.
He told me that if they suspect rabies the dog is immediately pyt down and check the brains
The shots for rabies are painful, I had them as a kid and they try not to inflict unecessary pain on the children..


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

The long series of painful shots in the stomach for rabies have been replaced by a modern, considerably less painful, and much shorter series of injections in the arm.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Great to hear because I was bitten by a dog that was not vaccinated whe I was a kid and it was not pleasant:


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