Name: Denise L.
Passport Health location: San Diego, CA (Mission Valley)

We truly value our team members at Passport Health. They are the ones that make a direct impact in our clients’ lives as they entrust us with their healthcare needs. Denise has been with Passport Health for 10 years. Since the start of her adventure with Passport Health, she has been a key part in supporting smooth operations in her home clinic in San Diego. Not only does she provide excellent care and a high-level of service to clients seen in our clinic, but she also delivers this same level of care to the employees of our national account clients at their on-site events. We asked Denise about her role at Passport Health and the overall experience she delivers to our clients’ to care for their healthcare and travel needs.

What is your background? What did you do before you started working at Passport Health in 2004?
I have a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. For many years I worked with children in the foster care system. One of my favorite projects was as a director, I developed a transitional housing program for young adults exiting foster care. This program assisted young adults by providing housing, along with career and living skills. It was a great success and it is still operating today.

What drew you to travel medicine?
I’ve always enjoyed helping others and experiencing other cultures. Travel medicine allows me to bring my experience from my own travels and my medical knowledge to assist others in preparing for their international adventure.

How do you stay up to date on the latest developments in travel medicine?
I stay up to date by reading medical reviews about diseases related to travel medicine, the websites of the Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization. Due to my expertise in travel medicine and vaccines, I have been a speaker for 3 pharmaceutical companies. I have spoken to large health organizations and public health departments regarding vaccine preventable diseases and the corresponding vaccines.

What is your favorite thing about your job?
Hearing the patient’s excitement of their upcoming adventures and knowing that I am helping them stay healthy during their trip.

Are you an international traveler yourself?
Yes, I have traveled to the Caribbean, Central America, Europe and Africa.

What do you think differentiates a Passport Health appointment from an appointment at another clinic that does not focus on travel medicine?
Passport Health staff have extensive training on vaccines, medications and preventive measures for the travelers. Patients enjoy their appointments with Passport Health because they are given a relaxed atmosphere, a generous amount of time to learn about health risks of the country they are visiting and they have time to ask questions. They like that Passport Health staff’s primary focus is pre-travel medicine and the various diseases that they may encounter.

Are you planning a trip abroad? Be sure you are healthy and prepared for your adventure by scheduling a visit with a travel health specialist before you go!

https://www.passporthealthglobal.com/

While vaccines are widely used in North America to prevent childhood illness and annual sickness such as influenza, scientific studies are finding that many of these routine vaccinations are also helping to protect against cancer later in life. Medical researchers at the Mayo Clinic devised an experimental treatment with a mega dose of the measles vaccine and found impressive results in patients with aggressive cases of cancer.

Using Measles Vaccine Against Cancer

So far, medical researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota have conducted clinical trials using a dose of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine in two patients fighting rare and aggressive forms of cancer. One such patient had been fighting multiple myeloma for over 10 years. The dose of vaccine provided to this patient was enough to inoculate 10 million people against measles. The inactivated measles virus was specially engineered by scientists to single out cancer cells. Six months after the patient received therapy, the cancer has been eliminated.

How Vaccines Work Against Cancer

When a vaccine is introduced to the body, the immune system of a healthy person recognizes it as a foreign substance and creates antibodies against it. These antibodies then detect and destroy similar viruses and cells. Since the researchers injected the measles vaccine containing inactivated viruses directly into the tumor, the patient’s immune system set to work destroying the infected tumor cells. Because the patients in the study had compromised immune systems, they weren’t able to fight off the measles virus, which allowed the virus sufficient time to invade the tumor cells. The second patient in the study experienced a resurgence of cancer after a nine-month period of remission.

Future Work

Although a study involving just two patients is of small significance, it’s an important step in finding ways to treat cancer that do not respond to chemotherapy, radiation and surgical methods of care. Many viruses specifically target certain cells in the body, which makes modified viruses a natural choice to target tumors. Scientists are currently investigating whether the measles vaccine and other similar vaccines could be effective against ovarian, brain, head and neck cancers, and mesothelioma. While studies have produced positive results against cancer in rodents, curing cancers in humans continues to be a challenge. The next step would be to try similar work in a large, randomized clinical trial of cancer patients.

Getting Your Vaccinations

As scientists continue to make strides in the fight against cancer, there is increasing importance of routine vaccinations during childhood and continuing throughout adulthood, including vaccinations as preventative care for travel abroad. If you’re in need of routine vaccinations such as influenza, MMR, hepatitis B, a visit to a travel health specialist can determine which vaccines you require. Before traveling abroad, a pre-travel health exam to receive immunizations, travel medications and advice on packing essentials such as mosquito repellant and sunscreen can help enhance your health during and after your trip. Passport Health travel health specialists offer these and other international health-related services to ensure that you can embark on your trip with peace of mind.

Sources:

USA Today Article
Washington Post Article
Star Tribune Article
CDC Measles, Mumps, Rubella Vaccination Information Page

A trip to the National Parks of Ghana is the trip of a lifetime for a wildlife enthusiast. Make sure you are well protected before your exotic adventure.

Five Tips for a Memorable Wildlife Vacation in Ghana

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Name: Tony Vlachos
Lives in: Jersey City, NJ
Destination: Philippines
Trip Date: May 2013 –July 2013

After visiting a Passport Health location last year, Tony Vlachos agreed to share his travel experience upon his return. He was traveling to the Philippines as a selected contestant on CBS’ Survivor: Cagayan, which would later air in over 156 countries. After 3 challenging months away from civilization and his loved ones, he returned to his home in New Jersey with a truly unique story to tell, and a much larger bank account!

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Accra, the capital of Ghana, has reported an outbreak of cholera due to localized unsanitary conditions as well as seasonal rains that flood the area. Nearby South Sudan’s capital Juba is experiencing a cholera outbreak of its own. Meanwhile, halfway across the world in the Philippines, four villages in Alamada, North Cotabato, are currently experiencing an outbreak of the disease.

What Is Cholera?

Cholera is a potentially fatal disease caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae. An infected person can produce as much as 10 to 20 liters of watery diarrhea in a single day. Some people may vomit as well. This diarrhea rapidly leads to dehydration, and death may occur in just a few days after onset of symptoms.

Around the world, 3 to 5 million cases of cholera occur annually. Of those, approximately 100,000 die of the disease. Most people experience just mild symptoms and then recover, but up to 5 percent of infected persons develop severe illness. Death can occur within hours if no medical care is provided.

How Does Cholera Spread?

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