Just wondering if anyone got a shot for diptheria I read it was going around Russsia.

Cam

All you need do is make sure you don't drink the water, eat cooked food and wash your hands. You will be fine. I am no doctor though and do not profess to be. Just the things I followed when I went to Uzbekistan. Also take Pepto with you. My tummy did get a little upset the first few days because of the change in cuisine.

Do they sell bottle water everywhere in Russia. And I hope soda is safe to drink. I thought they had Mac Donalds over there.

Bottled water is common just about everywhere - many European brands in most places. I'm sure a lot of these are fake, though.

Soda generally safe. The big companies licensing these products have little to gain from poor quality. It is bad PR in one of their most important markets.

There is plenty of Western fast food in Moscow and St Petersburg. Elsewhere, it really depends. (Baskin Robbins, Macdonalds and KFC are probably the most common)

Shots for Hepatatis and diptheria would make the most sense if you are paranoid. I don't think that things are quite as bad as the state department tells on their website. Russia has far more doctors per capita than the US. I think that Americans tend to overlook what the real risks are to their saftey. There are plenty of ways to die in Russia - water borne illness is way down the list.

Well said, russ.

Watch out for cars! You're at a much higher risk of getting killed by a car or in a car than by catching diptheria.

I did check prior to going last year, and my health insurance company had a list of reccommended vaccinations before going overseas. They, like the State Department's reccommendations, were just a bunch of "cover-all" shots to make sure that you're good when coming in contact with something that you would'nt find here.

I wouldn't really worry about it. Russia is nowhere near as bad as it's made out to be when it comes to cleanliness and sanitation. Use common sense (hand-washing, bottled water, eat at reputable establishments) and you'll be fine. Although.... when in Rome...

(Does this diptheria topic remind anyone of the story "Race Against Death" about the diptheria epidemic in Nome, Alaska in 1925? Does Balto ring any bells? This story was the basis for the Iditarod race, and if you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. "Call of the Wild" is also a fine read.)

Yeah, my doctor here knows that I'm prone to infections in my throat (nothing serious). When he knew I would be in Russia for a while, he said to ask my mother in law what broad-spectrum antibiotics she could get (She's an MD there). His plan was to write me scripts for whatever she couldn't get to be safe. This was more of a convenience thing.

Vaccinations aren't magic. If it is a disease you will most likely survive (Hepatitis A/B, influenza, chicken pox) vaccines aren't terribly necessary. They benefit public health by reducing the risk that those with weak immune systems (young/elderly/sick) will die.

Keep in mind, doctors will tell you that hospitals aren't safe. There are germs in hospitals that don't exist anywhere else.

You might want avoid salads too. They wash the veggies in water. Take something like Immodium with you just in case. I had one trip with a group where the whole group got sick. I thought it was just me till we got talking. That was total misery. I have been there about 20 times and as long as you follow what everyone has said you should be fine.

The drivers are the worst part. My last trip there was the first time ever that the cab driver going into moscow was going faster than my plane was going getting to moscow.

Diphtheria is more of a personal contact disease, though.

However, factors such as inadequate healthcare delivery systems, poverty and other social factors have led to diphtheria being an endemic/epidemic in many regions of the world e.g. the former USSR, the Indian subcontinent, South East Asia and South America. Diphtheria therefore, continues to be a serious health problem within these countries and presents potential health risks to other countries (Warton et al. 2000, Journal of Infectious Diseases 2000;181:S1; Dittmann, S. et al. 2000, Journal of Infectious Diseases 2000;181:S10-S22).

The microbe

Diphtheria is caused by exotoxin-producing strains of Corynebacterium diphtheriae. The microbe is a gram-positive, club-shaped rod that appears in clusters of cells lying next to one another in X and Y shapes. The bacteria contain inclusions of phosphate that appear red when stained with methylene blue, and this property can be useful for its identification. C. diphtheriae is closely related to other corynebacteria that are part of the normal flora of humans with the major difference being the ability to produce exotoxin. All virulent strains of C. diphtheriae are lysogenized by a bacteriophage that carries the diphtheria toxin gene. In the absence of the bacteriophage, the microbe is unable to cause serious disease. Expression of the toxin gene in a patient depends on the blood iron concentration dropping to a critically low level for reasons described below. Humans are the only natural hosts for the organism.

Exotoxins suck

However you can take proper precautions

Prevention

Maintain good personal and environmental hygiene.
Maintain good indoor ventilation.
Keep hands clean and wash hands properly.
Wash hands when they are dirtied by respiratory secretions e.g. after sneezing.
Cover nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing and dispose of nasal and mouth discharge properly.
Cleanse used toys and furniture properly.
Disinfect soiled articles properly.


Here's what these little chopfcuks look like

I think I'll get vaccinated. Thanks