I know lots of people who have contracted hep A here, usually a number of folks will get it at the same from some type of contaminated food source. Hep b can be easily transmitted with close personal contact. I know people who contracted hep b here. And definitely typhoid can be picked up here, contaminated water and food.

I haven't had those but have had dengue and rotavirus. malaria and dengue are around too.

Nasty bugs and viruses!

The worst vaccinations I ever suffered through were yellow fever and anthrax. Dad was in the military and shots weren't optional!

I think that any person likely to be a first responder, or at least more likely than most, would consider these innoculations prudent. I'm all for avoiding unecessary treatments as Elbert mentioned, but with a burgeoning first responder program starting up in SP and the information available about these diseases in first aid training, I'm more for that ounce of prevention than the pound of cure (or worse yet, the lack of that pound of cure).

It should be noted that depending on your definition of "close personal contact", that is not the only way that Hep B can be contracted. Therefore, IMNSHO, it behooves everyone to get the Hep A and the Hep B shots.

I refer to manicures and pedicures and other intentional or accidental sticks or pricks.

It might be fun to look on up what injections and health cautions are advised for folks who travel to the US.

I hope things have changed since 1967. There was the start of hepatitis in our unit in Vietnam. To stop the spread, everyone was dosed with Gamma Globulin. The dose was 1cc for every 20 pounds body weight. Since I weighed 160#, that was a syringe with with 4cc of 'flour and water paste' high in each butt cheek.

I looked like I had golf balls under the skin and they lasted for three days. The pain lasted for a week.

yep, a body condom would be a good start, it seems condescending when they say get shots to visit us.

I'm not opposed to vaccinations, but the CDC list for most of these places seems based on "worst location, risky behaviour, worst-case-bad luck".
Then again when you think about how careless people tend to be on vacation perhaps there is some logic in the overkill.

My favorite post on the message board of all time is the Female American Tourist who posted a warning about a local rasta man that had aids. :-)She had unprotected sex with a rasta man she met in a bar on vacation in Central America and she wants to warn us about him!

Nice one Elbert I like it. Precautionaries over casual sex aside its not just worst case bad luck either. With well worn credit to Forest Gump you just dont know what youre going to get (into), maybe its responding to a boat or vehicle accident. Dianes observation as to visitor behavior is on point and the residents of the island seem to like to get banged up as well so perhaps prior immunization in a first aid situation is not so much overkill.

Barring immobilizing squeamishness, our tendencies are to assist an injured person and in doing so there is an increased risk of exposure to blood/fluid borne pathogens. I'm immunized and I carry latex gloves and a mask in my day pack. I would not expect a visitor to necessarily carry these items but when it comes down to it I expect the natural tendency to assist, be it business owner, resident or visitor, would put the Samaritan at increased risk. I simply see immunization while traveling (or living) in countries with higher incidence of the such pathogens to be good sense and most particularly in this type of scenario.

Edit: I'd add that its typical for EMT's here in the States to be immunized for Hep A&B, so its not just Belize when it comes to first aid precautions.