Tetanus, hep A, and typhoid

I got my shots for the Nicaragua trip this week. There were only two, hepatitis A and tetanus boosters, but I'll also be taking an oral typhoid vaccine for the next week. One week before departure, I'll start taking chlorquine tablets for malaria. These are not the kind of malaria pills that make you crazy and give you nightmares, though that is Jeff's newest anxiety. I took chloroquine the last time I traveled in Central America with no ill effects.

As soon as my arms stop aching, I'll be feeling super immune and ready for backpacking adventure or global catastrophe, whichever comes first. They also gave me a bottle of cipro, in case of extreme bacterial infection. Cipro, as I'm sure you know, is the antibiotic they use to combat anthrax. I've now got an edge on the rest of you should we happen to have a major disaster or terrorist attack.

After I received these immunizations, I got to thinking that don't know a thing about these diseases, or their symptoms, so I did a little research. Here's what I don't have to worry about anymore:

Typhoid is an acute, life threatening fever caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhi.  It's spread through contaminated food and water.  If you have typhoid you'll usually experience a sustained fever as high as 104° F. You may also feel weak, have stomach pains, headache, or loss of appetite. In some cases, patients have a rash of flat, red spots. To treat typhoid, they give you antibiotics, though resistant strains are becoming a bigger and bigger problem. People rarely die from typhoid.

Hepatitis A causes no symptoms at all in many people, but even without symptoms they can still pass on the hepatitis virus to others. Symptoms can include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss, yellowing of the skin and whites of eyes, darker yellow urine and pale poo, or itchy skin. There are many types of virus which can cause hepatitis. You become infected by eating or drinking contaminated food or water. It can be passed on if even a tiny amount of poo from a person with hepatitis A comes into contact with another person's mouth (yuck). Infection with hepatitis A is usually mild, but can cause severe inflammation of the liver, requiring hospitalization. If you get hepatitis A, you have to limit the amount of alcohol you drink and take precautions to ensure that you avoid infecting others with the virus until you have recovered.

Tetanus, also known as "lockjaw," is a bacterial disease that affects the nervous system. It's contracted through a cut or wound that becomes contaminated, and puncture wounds are especially susceptible to infection with tetanus. Tetanus causes severe muscle spasms within about a week, leading to "locking" of the jaw so you can't open your mouth or swallow. Tetanus is not transmitted from person to person, but the bacteria is present worldwide. My sources tell me that approximately 11% of cases of tetanus are fatal. Treatment involves several weeks in the hospital under intensive care.

Malaria is caused by protozoan of the genus Plasmodium and generally you get infected when you are bitten by an infected mosquito (which is why we're taking mosquito nets). You can also get it from a bad blood transfusion or sharing needles. There are four types of malaria that infect humans. They all cause a high fever, which comes and goes every couple days, or flu-like symptoms. People will also complain of headache, nausea, shaking, chills, sweating, and weakness. Malaria is treated with oral medications and a lot of liquids. Interestingly enough, you can get malaria even if you're taking preventative drugs like cholorquine.

Now those don't sound so bad, do they? I was expecting something a little more dramatic.