Travel Health Consultation London, UK

Whooping cough (pertussis) Price per dose: £80 Number of doses for primary course: 1 Minimum dose intervals: – Age: 3+ When a booster dose given (in years): Not required

MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) Price per dose: £37 Number of doses for primary course: 2 Minimum dose intervals: 4 weeks Infants from 6 months of age travelling to measles endemic areas or to an area where there is a current outbreak should receive MMR (Green Book, chapter 21). On 8 February 2019, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reported that measles continues to be transmitted across Europe this year. Young people, healthcare workers and those who are not fully vaccinated remain at highest risk of measles. Travel may increase an individual’s risk of exposure to measles virus, and facilitate the spread of disease to unvaccinated and susceptible populations. Vaccination should be considered for: All travellers who have not previously had two doses of a measles containing vaccine or prior measles infection. Particularly children and those who will be living or working closely with the local population at their destination, in countries with high endemnicity or recent outbreaks. There is now overwhelming evidence that MMR does not cause autism. Also, it has been suggested that combined MMR vaccine could potentially overload the immune system. From the moment of birth, humans are exposed to countless numbers of foreign antigens and infectious agents in their everyday environment. Responding to the three viruses in MMR would use only a tiny proportion of the total capacity of an infant’s immune system. The three viruses in MMR replicate at different rates from each other and would be expected to reach high levels at different times (Green Book, chapter 21).