Posted by heidi on 28/4/2008, 9:33 pm

i have just started a new job but it means i have to go to china a few times, which also means that i have to take vaccinations, but i have a small problem i am on azathiophine and have been for the past 3-4 yrs now, which means i am not alowed to take live vaccinations. i know what i need... typhoid, hepatitis a and b. diphtheria, tuberculosis, rabies, yellow fever, japanese b encephalitis, tick-bone encephalitis, tentanus and polio. i dont know what to do. i havent meantioned about my crohn's to my boss yet and i am really worried about how shes going to react if i can't take any of theses. i mean this is my job on the line here!!!!!!! help plz!!!!

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Posted by chip on 29/4/2008, 12:31 am, in reply to "vaccinations with aza"

While you are taking Azathioprine, and for a while after you stop treatment, do not have any immunisations (vaccinations) without talking to your doctor first. Azathioprine lowers the body's resistance and there is a chance that you may get an infection from the vaccine. honey its your job on the line or your life! time to make some tough decisions. Have a word with your consultant before chatting to your employer to see how ill the vaccinations or illness you get without them will make you. chip

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Posted by Cindy S on 30/4/2008, 5:35 am, in reply to "vaccinations with aza"

you don't have to tell them about your crohn's. but you need to talk to an infectious disease doc. find out definitely which ones you can and can't take. he might have alternatives for you. then just tell your employer, that for health reasons, you can not take live vaccines and give her a list of the ones you can't take. the timing of getting all these shots will be critical. it can take 6-12 months to get fully covered by some vaccines. also, some of these might have thimerisol in them, so if you are allergic, tell the doc. I think yellow fever and tuberculosis are the two that only have live versions available when I had to get immunizations for travel, I was on 225 mg of Immuran AND 10 mg pred. I talked to the ID docs and narrowed down the list of vaccines that would be neccessary for the specific area I was traveling to (urban Brazil) and my employer was fine with the ID docs recommendations. there is a live typhoid version (oral), but there are older injectible ones that don't contain live virus. hep A and b are fine. here in the states, DPT, and polio vaccines (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus) are given when young as part of normal vaccination. you might only need a booster for the diphtheria. you should be getting tetanus boosters every 10 yrs anyway. and obviously, if you need a booster of the polio, go for the IPV not the oral live one. rabies is not a live virus. and there is an inactivated version of the jap b encephalitis vaccine, but I don't know anything about tick borne enceph vaccines.

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