INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL INSURANCE AND HEALTH INSURANCE -
Diseases - Hepatitis

GLOBAL COVERAGE, INTERNATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE

Although international medical insurance is important it is also important to be so prepared in order to avoid health problems overseas.

EXPATRIATE HEALTH

Travel Supplies Checklist Other Risks
General Medical Travel Kit Miscellaneous
10 Commandments of Travel Medicine Reference Materials
Traveler’s Diarrhea Nutrition
Diseases Travel Doctor
Pregnant Expatriate  

Diseases


Hepatitis

Hepatitis A

This organization requires vaccinations for both hepatitis A & B, both being preventable.

Hepatitis A is common throughout the world, including the U.S. and has caused some deaths. Transferred primarily through water and food, easily contacted. It is endemic in the developing world. Vaccination is 2-doses, four weeks apart. New vaccine, Twinrix, combines Hepatitis A & B, though a third vaccination for B is required 6 months out from the first.

Hepatitis B

This organization requires vaccination for several reasons. Even if you are not a health care worker (OSHA requires that in the U.S. for health care workers at any level), there are still reasons for getting the vaccination. All newborns in the U.S. have been required to be vaccinated in the past ten years. You may get health care in a place where needles have been re-autoclaved and have had prior exposure to someone else’s blood or fluids. IV solution bottles are also reused, and of course blood products are possibly contaminated with hepatitis in places where they do not have capability for testing for that. Hepatitis B is considered a sexually transmitted disease. The most frequent source besides in the medical community in the developing world is illicit sexual behavior. The three doses virtually make it almost impossible to obtain the disease. There is some cross-reactivity to lessening the effect for Hepatitis C and perhaps E, if A & B have been obtained. Hepatitis G is most often seen in pregnant women. C, E, and G do not have vaccines.