What vaccinations are required when traveling to Cancun Mexico from US?

Answer 1

Mexico (North America) * Confirm primary courses and boosters are up to date as recommended for life in Britain - including vaccines given to special groups because of risk exposure or complications (e.g. hepatitis B for health care workers, influenza and pneumococcal vaccines for the elderly). * Courses or boosters usually advised: tetanus; hepatitis A; typhoid. * Vaccines sometimes advised: diphtheria; rabies; hepatitis B. * No vaccine certificate required. * ** Tetanus is contracted through dirty cuts and scratches. This is a serious infection of the nervous system. ** Typhoid and hepatitis A are spread through contaminated food and water. Typhoid causes septicaemia and hepatitis A causes liver inflammation and jaundice. In risk areas you should be immunised if good hygiene is impossible. ** Diphtheria is also spread by droplet infection through close personal contact. Vaccination is advised if close contact with locals in risk areas is likely. ** Hepatitis B is spread through infected blood, contaminated needles and sexual intercourse, It affects the liver, causes jaundice and occasionally liver failure. Those visiting high risk areas for long periods or at social or occupational risk should be immunised. ** Rabies is spread through bites or licks on broken skin from an infected animal. It is always fatal. Vaccination is advised for those going to risk areas that will be remote from a reliable source of vaccine. Even when pre-exposure vaccines have been received urgent medical advice should be sought after any animal bite.

Answer 2

Most travelers should have vaccines against measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, chickenpox, polio, and flu.

If you are staying on rural areas in Mexico, you should also include hepatitis A and typhoid vaccines.

If you are going for the less-beaten path (i.e. extreme environments such as rainforests and swamps), you may also need shots against hepatitis B, malaria and rabies.

Answer 3

The CDC Yellow Book recommendations for Cancun include getting up-to-date with all routine vaccinations and getting the hepatitis A series. If you're going to be eating street food or staying with family or friends, rather than at a resort, typhoid is recommended. If you may have sex or get a tattoo while in Cancun, hepatitis B is recommended. A select number of travelers might also consider getting rabies vaccine, but that doesn't include the typical traveler. Malaria cases are rare in the area containing Cancun, and most visitors don't need to consider malaria prophylaxis as of Fall 2014.

Answer 4

No vaccines are required for travel to Mexico. There have been great advances in public health in the last few years, so the risks of contracting tropical diseases in Mexico are very low for most travelers, unless they are adventurous and go to jungles or swamp areas. That said, the CDC recommends that all your regular vaccines be up-to-date. They also suggest hepatitis A and typhoid vaccines to be safe. Tetanus is a real possibility in Mexico as in the USA, so it is wise to get a tetanus booster. If you are just going to Cancun or other tourist destinations, you should have nothing to worry about, though you should read the paragraph below.

There are still mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever. Contracting malaria is uncommon. Dengue fever, however, is more common. The number of tourists who get dengue are a small handful of those traveling Mexico, but you don't want to be one of the unlucky ones.

Dengue is found in tropical parts of Mexico and the southern USA. There is no vaccine for dengue, only prevention. If you are at low altitude, near the beaches especially, there is a possibility of contracting dengue. Wear insect repellent at all times, especially in the late afternoons and early mornings. Should you get dengue, although it feels like you are going to die, you won't. In Belize, this is called "bone-break" fever, because it feels like your bones are breaking whenever you move. Doctors can treat you with injections to lessen the symptoms, but the symptoms will last for about 3 or 4 days.