Document text
Missionaries learn hard lesson Entering foreign country without right immunizations is hazardous to health By KELLY STEWART When Arica Buck completed a four-month church mission at a Mexican orphanage earlier this year, she returned to the United States with warm memories. Recommended protection The Jackson County Public Health Department Travel Clinic is open 8 to 11:45 a.m. and 1 to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday. The health department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta recommend the following vaccines for travel to Central America, including Mexico: Hepatitis A or immune globulin. Cost: $27 each for two vaccines, given six to 12 months apart. Hepatitis B if you might be exposed to blood, have sexual contact with the local population, stay longer than six months, or be exposed through medical treatment. Cost: $35 each for three vaccines. The second is given one month later, the third is six months after the first. Typhoid, particularly in developing countries. Cost: $26 (oral), $40 (injection). Rabies, if you might be exposed to wild or domestic animals through your work or recreation. Yellow fever, for Panama travelers who will be going outside urban areas. As needed, booster doses for tetanus-diphtheria and measles. More information is available via the Internet and by phone. The U.S. State Department posts warnings about travel in certain countries at the Web site http:travel.state.gov, or phone (202) 647-5225. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warnings about health dangers at its Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/ . She also came back with hepatitis A. Buck, 21, is one of a number of local people who have been exposed to serious illnesses when traveling outside the United States for church mission projects. Because local missionaries recently returned to the United States with hepatitis A and malaria, the Jackson County Public Health Department sent a letter to church pastors informing them of the risks of traveling to foreign countries without proper immunizations. Everyone who plans to travel to foreign countries should be immunized -- even if they plan to stay a short time, said Yvonne Chilcoat, community health nurse for the Department of Health and Human Services. "Some people go over for one week or two weeks," Chilcoat said. "I guess that makes people feel they don't have to go the whole nine yards." A single case of hepatitis A can expose an entire congregation and members of the community, Chilcoat said. Work restriction could be required of infected people, which could result in lost income or jobs. Buck learned her lesson first-hand. Buck lived and worked in an orphanage for disabled children from Feb. 1 to June 1, helping the children eat, bathe and dress and providing activities. "The day before I left (Mexico), I felt really sick and really tired," the Medford resident said. She couldn't eat, but drank a lot of fluids. When she reached the United States, her eyes had a yellowish tinge, and she went to the hospital. After blood tests, she found out she had Hepatitis A. "I found out three of the kids had it" at the orphanage, Buck said. Other members of the mission group fell ill, too. "I don't know how we got it," she said. Applegate Christian Fellowship sponsored the trip, but Buck said no one at the church told her she needed immunizations. Dave Coleman, associate pastor at Applegate Christian Fellowship, said the church urges all missionaries to get immunized before leaving the country, and Buck may have slipped through the cracks. "We don't necessarily make people get immunized," Coleman said. "We strongly urge them to take the necessary precautions." First Baptist Church Pastor Rick Burns, who organizes youth trips, did not return phone calls for this story. High-risk groups for hepatitis A include international travelers and day-care center attendees, according to the Center for Disease Control Web site. Buck fell into both categories. Buck's doctor told her to rest for a month -- no working or physical exercise. Within a month, she recovered from her infection. Buck didn't know Mexico had a problem with hepatitis. "It must be pretty easy (to catch)," she said. Jackson County residents most frequently travel to Mexico, Central America, South America, Africa and Southeast Asia, Chilcoat said. She recommends immunizations for travel to all those locations. Buck said churches should pay for immunizations if missionaries can't afford them. People should be immunized before traveling abroad, she said. "It's a wise decision," she said. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA