On Lialda 2gm For Ulcerative Colitis. Got Vaccination For Yellow Fever, Hep A And Typhoid. Any Risks?

Posted on Sun, 4 Nov 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 4 Nov 2012 Answered on

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi, yesterday I recieved a combination of vaccines for my trip in 2 weeks for the jungle in Peru. I suffer from ulcerative colitis and have been on 2 grams of Lialda (mesalamine) daily for many years. Before I got the vaccines (yellow fever, hep A, Typhoid, and tetanus) I asked the Health dept nurse if there was a problem with me taking Lialda and live virus vaccines. she said no so I proceeded. Now I read in the drug sheet for lialda there is a caution against taking live vaccines like varicella and influenza. Is there a high chance I could contract yellow fever? what should I do?

Answered by Dr. Sumit Bhatti (3 hours later)

Hi,

Thank you for your query.

1. Lialda (mesalamine) suppresses the immune system.

2. Vaccines for Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A, Typhoid are live attenuated vaccines and these rely on a normal immune system for the development of immunity. Tetanus vaccine is an inactivated tetanus toxin. This vaccine also requires a normal immune system for development of this artificial active immunity.

3. The answer you seek is not available as the exact mechanism of development of immunity is unknown in many vaccines.

4. In the light of the above it is best to defer your trip if possible in the interest of safety.

I hope that I have answered your queries. If you have any further questions, I will be available to answer them.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar