A recent report out of Germany shows that a new polio strain that killed 209 people in the Congo in 2010 might be able to overcome current polio vaccinations.

In a study conducted at the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, researchers found that this new strain changes its form “at a decisive point,” making it resistant to some of the common polio vaccines.

Researchers isolated the virus from several fatal cases and then tested it on the blood samples of 34 medical students at the University of Bonn. Between 15% and 29% of the test samples were entirely unprotected from the mutant strain, despite being vaccinated against polio previously.

It is estimated that anywhere from 20% to 30% of the students sampled could have been infected by the new strain of the virus. However, it is possible that the vaccine would still have helped their immune systems combat the disease.

This finding comes four years after the initial outbreak of the new polio strain in Pointe Noire, Republic of the Congo, and confirms what initial research stated. Nearly half the victims of the outbreak were immunized at birth.

While no instance of this new strain has been found in the United States (or anywhere in the developed world), it is something to be aware of that could affect future research.

For more information on the polio vaccination and how you can protect yourself and your family, please contact a Passport Health travel medicine specialist.

Immunization has long been recognized as one of the most efficient, successful, and cost-effective health investments in human history. Studies prove that immunized children have higher cognitive abilities, are more likely to attend school, and are more likely to go on to be productive, healthy adults than their un-immunized counterparts. Unfortunately, even with this compelling evidence, 23 million children, mainly in the developing world, are still not vaccinated against life-threatening, common, preventable diseases. Due to the lack of access to some of the most basic vaccines in these poor and remote communities, precious lives are unnecessarily taken. Every child born, no matter the location of his or her birth, has the right to have the opportunity to live a healthy life, and GAVI Alliance avers that vaccines are the best way to assure this basic human right to life.

In the year 2000, global immunization rates were stagnating, and nearly 30 million children were born every year in developing countries without full access to routine immunizations. In order increase access to life-saving and health preserving vaccines, a unique public-private partnership was created with the help of numerous skilled immunization specialists; the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) was born. The Alliance’s mission was (and continues to be) to save children’s lives and protect global health by increasing access to immunization in the world’s poorest countries. GAVI has brought together low-income countries, donor governments, the WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and other private philanthropists and influential individuals into one decision-making body. Working together, these Alliance members have been able to achieve goals no single organization could realize on its own and have made significant strides in closing the gap between children for whom immunization is a given and the millions of children worldwide with no access to basic vaccines. Each partner has brought something different and critically important to the effort to immunize children in the poorest countries, and, together, they have been able to make a huge difference in the world today.

Since GAVI was founded, the partnership has significantly increased immunization coverage and improved the health systems in over 70 countries. By focusing on funding immunization programs in low-income countries and supporting the strengthening of national health systems, GAVI has been able to ensure vaccines for meningitis, maternal neonatal tetanus, yellow fever, measles and other diseases reach individuals in need. The way GAVI works is quite unique, and the Alliance focuses on building on country commitment. Countries that are eligible for GAVI support take the lead by determining what their immunization needs are, applying for funding, and overseeing the implementation of their vaccination programs. GAVI requires that recipient countries contribute towards the cost of the vaccines with GAVI’s co-financing policy. By doing this, ownership of the program is strengthened and long-term sustainability of immunization programs is created. Involvement of recipient country governments and organizations in the vaccine programs demonstrates a strong commitment to improving the health of their populations.

Currently, GAVI is finishing up a second five-year strategy to support its mission and assist developing countries to immunize an additional quarter of a billion children by 2015, potentially saving four million more lives. This strategy, which began in 2011, has four main goals, all of which support GAVI’s overall mission: accelerate the uptake and use of underused and new vaccines, contribute to strengthening the capacity of integrated health systems to deliver immunization, increase the predictability of global financing while improving the sustainability of national financing for immunization, and to shape vaccine markets. This strategy also includes a series of programmatic targets and a range of indicators to monitor the progress towards fulfilling GAVI’s mission.

Since GAVI was founded, over 440 million children had been vaccinated due to the Alliance’s work, saving over 6 million lives. With the help of direct contributions, public-private partnerships, and caring individual donations, GAVI is able to continue with its commitment to save and protect millions more lives around the world. As new opportunities arise to prevent additional diseases, GAVI plans to continue making additional vaccines available and hopes to prevent more than 11 million child deaths by 2030.

To make a donation to the GAVI campaign, please visit this webpage, and click here to learn more about the Alliance in general.

Health is important no matter whether people are at work, school, home or traveling. Staff members who are healthy have higher productivity, lower absenteeism and lower costs related to healthcare, insurance, worker’s compensation, disability and training. The implementation of a workplace wellness program benefits employees and employers and is a cost-effective measure to promote everyone’s health.

What Is a Workplace Wellness Program?

A workplace wellness program is a comprehensive set of programs, policies, benefits and environmental supports uniquely designed for a particular organization to meet the health and safety needs of all employees. No two workplace wellness programs will be alike due to the different working environment, characteristics and staff needs. These programs are often managed by an independent agency working together with health insurers and business managers.

What Does a Workplace Wellness Program Include?

Workplace wellness programs include an assessment of the worksite to determine any health risks present in the environment. Next, planning takes place to determine interventions and infrastructure changes to the facility. The program is then implemented for all staff and includes health promotion interventions and risk reduction measures. Typical activities or interventions in a workplace wellness program include health education and personalized health coaching, weight management programs, health fairs, medical screenings, on-site fitness programs and healthy cooking demonstrations. Finally, an assessment is done to determine the effectiveness of the program. If the program is to be ongoing, interventions may be updated, and assessments may continue on an intermittent basis.

The Benefits to Employees

There are many benefits to introducing a wellness program at work. The benefits include financial, productivity, loyalty and health improvements.

• Reduced risk of chronic diseases
• Lower stress
• Better weight management
• Improved stamina and productivity
• Lower costs for prescription medications, healthcare premiums and doctor’s office co-pays

Employer Benefits of Workplace Wellness Programs

More than 200 scientific studies have been published attesting to the benefits of instituting workplace wellness programs. Many of the reasons for their implementation are benefits to the employer, such as:

• Increased retention and recruitment of high-quality staff
• Lower healthcare costs
• Less employee absenteeism
• Improved employee morale and interpersonal relations
• Enhanced team-building
• Lower rates of workplace illnesses and injuries

Setting Up a Wellness Program at Work

Business owners who are ready to lower healthcare-related costs and enjoy all the other benefits of a workplace wellness program can contact Passport Health’s travel health specialists for guidance and assistance with program implementation. Passport Health travel health specialists offer services that include vaccinations, advice on travel health, assistance with preparing medical and travel supplies, guidance on the use of mosquito repellent and sunscreen, and testing for infectious and chronic diseases. Employees can also receive personalized consultations including pre-travel health exams for work-related travel.

Sources:
Workplace Health Promotion
Wellness in the Workplace
Benefits of Worksite Wellness Programs

Long gone are the days when people just wanted to sit in a chair and watch the world go by while on vacation. Today’s international travelers increasingly seek adventure and thrills that capture the essence of the place they are visiting. However, with the rise in experiential travel also comes an increase in the risk for injury, illness and infection. Learning how best to protect yourself can help ensure that your adventure will be fantastic from start through finish.

What Is Experiential Travel?

Experiential travel is a vacation taken up a few notches to include experiences that resonate at an emotional or even spiritual level. These sorts of trips are more personalized, more hands-on, more adventurous and more attuned to the local culture of each destination. Some people take part in experiential travel for the purposes of self-discovery while others want to immerse themselves in the unique aspects of what drew them to the destination in the first place.

Health Risks of Experiential Travel

There are several components to experiential travel that can put the health of travelers at risk. These risks include:

• Far-off destinations. An adventure to a rainforest or exotic locale may be far from health care facilities should you develop a sudden illness or become injured during your trip.
  

• Action. Experiential travelers are not content to sit in a chaise at the side of the hotel swimming pool for a week. Rather, they want to get out and do things. Many activities increase the risk of injuries, exposure to mosquitoes carrying parasites, and other infectious diseases spread by animals and insects.
  

• Exposure to endemic diseases. In these out-of-the-way world destinations, the locals may not have been vaccinated against diseases that are rare in North America. As a result, you could become exposed to diseases such as polio, yellow fever and typhoid.
  

• Poor sanitation. You will likely have a difficult time finding filtered or bottled water while skydiving off cliffs in Nepal or exploring the Amazon. There is a risk of food-borne and water-borne diseases.

How to Stay Healthy During Your Adventure

With some preparation and preventative action, you can head out on whatever type of experiential travel adventure you can imagine and still protect your health. About two months before your departure, schedule a pre-travel health exam with a travel health specialist. You will receive any necessary travel vaccinations to reduce your risk of picking up infectious diseases during your trip. Travel health specialists can prescribe preventive medications such as anti-malarial drugs to begin taking before you depart. You will also receive guidance on packing for a healthy trip, such as which sunscreen to take, the best type of mosquito repellant and how to select a water purification kit. You may also want to consider travel health insurance, trip cancellation insurance and medical evacuation insurance in case of an illness or injury during your adventures.

Sources:
National Geographic: 7 Travel Trends You Need to Know Now

In an ongoing study of the efficacy of HPV vaccines at Stiftung Juliusspital in Weurzburg, Germany, researchers examined the antibody levels of girls who received the vaccine at ages 10 through 14, which is the recommended time period for vaccination. The Adjuvanted HPV vaccine is a three-dose series of shots that aims to prevent infection from HPV types 16 and 18, which are responsible for the majority of cases of cervical cancer. Scientists continue follow-up of the cohort to determine how long the vaccine can protect against HPV infections.

What Is the Adjuvanted HPV Vaccine?

The adjuvanted HPV vaccine is bivalent, which means it contains antigens against two types of HPV. To receive the full benefits of HPV vaccination, you need three shots. The second shot comes one month after the first shot, and the third shot comes six months after the first shot. In the U.S. and Canada, a name-brand HPV vaccine is recommended for use in young men and women ages 13 to 26.

Why Is HPV Vaccination Important?

HPV is responsible for causing over 17,000 cancers annually in women and more than 9,000 cancers annually in men. In addition, it’s the cause of a common sexually transmitted infection, genital warts. HPV is passed from person to person through skin-to-skin contact during sexual activities. It can affect the throat, anus, penis, cervix and vagina. There are no screening tests for many of these cancers, some of which are not detected until the disease is severe and no treatments are available. Treatment for genital warts can be uncomfortable, and the condition may be embarrassing. Vaccination against HPV can minimize your risk of these painful, serious and sometimes deadly infections.

Who Is Eligible for HPV Vaccination?

Women aged 13 to 26 and men aged 13 to 21 are eligible for HPV vaccination. It’s important for both young men and young women to be vaccinated because men can spread HPV to women through sexual contact. The vaccine can help lower the risk of cancers in all young adults. The researchers at Stiftung Juliusspital in Germany estimate that HPV vaccination provides detectable protection for at least two decades, which covers the time when young people are becoming sexually active and planning families of their own.

Benefits of HPV Vaccination

The repercussions of cancers caused by HPV in women can lead to the need for radical treatment such as hysterectomy. This surgical procedure renders women infertile. HPV vaccination also prevents cancers in men. Early vaccination against HPV before the onset of sexual activity minimizes the risk of such drastic complications to reproductive and overall health.

How to Get Vaccinated Against HPV

If you’re in the eligible age range for vaccination, it’s not too late to get vaccinated. You can also complete the HPV vaccination series if you’ve only had one or two of the shots. Parents should schedule this vaccine for their sons and daughters to help protect their future health. To schedule your vaccination against HPV, you can contact your physician, pediatrician or a travel health specialist at Passport Health. Travel health specialists can also provide you with other vaccines to help guard against infections during domestic and international trips. You’ll receive guidance for packing, such as what benefits you can get from sunscreen, mosquito repellant, water purification tablets and sunscreen.

Sources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: HPV and Cancer
Infectious Disease News: Adjuvanted HPV Promoted Long-term Antibody Persistence in Preteen, Adolescent Girls