Posted by
AimeeJ
17 yrs ago
Should have the BCG injection as an adult if you weren't vaccinated as a child?
We have moved from the UK and are living here now but plan to travel in China and other parts of Asia for holidays - our GP here said we shouldn't bother, but I know in the UK you would be given it (as is it on the increase there).
Any ideas???
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Maybe call your consulate or google it.
I'm going to also..........I'm curious. Was vaccinated many years ago.
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I asked my MD (in China) about this after I arrived in China. In USA the vaccine is not widely distributed, so until coming here I didn't even know it existed. My GP here replied that she thought it would be fine for a child to get vaccinated, but she did not recommend the vaccine for an adult. She said that every adult has been exposed to TB, to some degree, and that because of prior exposure every adult has some amount of antibody. Because of this, she said, an adult's immune response would be so strong that "your arm would rot off." Then she backed off a bit and said, "well, it wouldn't rot off, but the risk might be higher than the benefit." But of course even two doctors might not think the same on this issue. Has the rise of new antibiotic resistant strains changed the risk benefit ratio?
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LucyS
17 yrs ago
If you're after a personal opinion, I wouldn't worry much about get vaccinated against TB.
I've recently come to HK from Australia, where I was working in a large public hospial. In Australia it is not routine to vaccinate against TB. I believe a reason for this is that the vaccine isn't very effective, especially as there are different types of TB.
As for all vaccines though it's really up to you.
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BCG is not a travel vaccination and not indicated for adults living in HK. TB is common here (as many cases in HK as in the UK annually), however vaccination is only partly effective.
Matilda Medical Centre - 2537 8500
Matilda International Hospital
Hong Kong
http://www.matilda.org
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