What should we do - Central America???
 

Hi guys, we are going from Panama to USA 3 bikes, and we would like to know which papers and vaccination do they check at the borders. We heard we need a yellow fever stamp in the yellow vaccination book to cross some borders, especially Guatemala border - Do you have new infos about this???

What do they really check and which vaccinations are necessary to stay healthy?

Thanks - we are flying the 28 of this december to Panama!

Jens

I've never heard this about Guatemala.
For Brasil, under certain conditions, yes.

People talk...
 

Thanks for your help. You know - people talk a lot - they make you nervious.....

I still don´t know if I should get the yellow fever vaccination....

Jens

Dont get the YF shot if you dont need it. If you do get it, make you do it well before your departure date. It made me sicker than a dog for about 3 days.

Yankee Dog

shots for C.A.
 

Get your vaccinations for Hepatitis A and Hep. B and for your own peace of mind for yellow fever. Not everybody gets a reaction to it , most of us just carry on without a sign.
Also get the DUKORAL oral vaccine for protection against travellers diarrhea (Mexican Two-step, Montezuma's revenge ) Dukoral really works , also protects agasinst cholera for two years.
At the CA borders they never ask for proof of vaccination, they figure it is your problem if you get sick, you should be smart enough to look out fo r your own interests.
Forgot yesterday : also get vaccinated against typhoid.
All thes e diseases HepA&B, typhoid, cholera and TD are contractable from unhygienic food preparation , carelessness in handwashing so getting protected against tehm is a good investment.

Just my thought on Dukoral here. I took the 2 step oral two weeks before entering Mexico and have been travelling for almost two weeks. Today i had to see a doctor to get a prescription. I've been in Mexico two times prior and also travelled through S.America extensively, ans NEVER have i been as sick as i am now! Dukoral did nothing for me, and i somehow suspect it has made me worse. Excuse me, i need to go to the washroom...

I think some people build a tolerance for this, but not an immunity, of course.
The worst I had lasted about 3 weeks, but was ´manageáble´.

got a great shot from the Doc, felt fine the next day. Lost six pounds in four days...great weight-loss program: when in Vera Cruz, eat the fish! ;)

Dukarol
 

I have used Dukarol for trips to Thailand/Vietnam last year and to East and West Africa 2 years ago and never had a sick day so I think it is great as does my travel clinic in Canada.
However, I´m currently in Mexico (3 weeks now) but forgot and left my booster dose in the fridge at home! It doesn´t seem to be available in US or Mexico.So far so good but.....
My understanding is Dukarol is pretty effective against most of the cholera-type bacteria but not all.
I agree with Sjoerd Bakker about Hep A&B - they are essential just about anywhere these days.

I had not heard about Ducorol.

Nobody ever asked me for something like that in Central America!

Dukoral
 

Glad to hear you recovered with the help of your doctor Ron.
The idea that DUKORAL might have actually made your case of the trots worse is kind of doubtful. Like any vaccine DUKORAL targets a specific pathogen to build an immunity in ones gut. In this case the vaccine targets a very small group of bacteria which are the cause of the vast majority of simple travellers ´diarhea. However there are many other microbes which can also play havoc with the system. I found that all of this was explained reasonably and detail on the material data sheet which comes with the vaccine.
You probably hit the nail on the head when you recommend eating the fish in Veracruz in order to drop a lot of weight fast. Seafood is notorious for giving problems. Not that the fish are mean , it is the way that it is handled and preprared. Just the other day I was reminded of this as I watched the local fishermen in Moron , Tamaulipas, gut, clean and slice the fresh catch right beside their boat at the dock and then rinsing the fillets in the water right beside the boat, the very water which had all the swill from their previous catches and probably the effluent from all the restaurants and houses along the waterfront still present in dilute form. Then they deposited this , with some water in a plastic cooler box with the name of one hotel. Bon apetit !

Just because I have the protection of DUKORAL I am not absolved from the resposibility of watching out for what I eat , and must make sure to avoid risky foods. Seafood toxins can be particularly vile, no amount of cooking can neutralize some of the products of the microbes and the result can be deadly.Any raw fish , shellfish,shrimp crabs or whatever are to be avoided, always.
If I were to have bear repellant, I should not expect it to prevent a shark attack.