Traveling abroad and over age 60 then you may need a measles vaccine, actually two! What literally is needed is the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine – so says the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Another disadvantage of age is that this and many more vaccines were unavailable in our youth. It has been noted that more than half don’t ‘bother’ to get vaccinated, very risky business. Good news is that those born before 1957 who have had measles are left with a lifetime immunity to measles virus.
Measles can be a mild illness but can also be serious and land one in the hospital. This hearty virus lives in air for 2 hours and studies show if you walk in a room where virus is in air -90% of folks without immunity will contract measles. Mumps another viral illness can leave males sterile cause hearing loss to name a few complications.
The thing is even if the traveler does not get sick upon return they might carry these viruses home and infect others-scary! Very young and immune suppressed individuals are at greatest risk. So be conscientious if planning a trip and ask your healthcare provider at least 6 weeks before as you may need other vaccines as well. A friend is on her way to Fiji so she needed to get a Typhoid and Hep. A vaccine but not MMR as had measles and mumps ( life-long immunity). You guessed she is over 60!
Take time to check out the 2017 recommendations for adult vaccines if you are staying in the USA. If you are planning a trip visit CDC. Scroll to what your travel plans are – type traveling (how long staying, what you will be doing etc) then choose destination and be guided as to what vaccines are strongly recommended.
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