Travel illnesses and vaccinations

Get the right travel vaccinations and follow the advice below to reduce your risk of common infectious
diseases.
Water and food safety
Insect bites
Travellers' diarrhoea
Malaria
Dengue
HIV and STIs
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Typhoid
ello! fever
"abies
Meningitis
Watch a video about staying healthy abroad
Travel health e#perts advise preparing for a trip four to si# !ee$s before you travel% especially if you needvaccinations&
'Vaccination is (ust one ele)ent of protecting yourself fro) infectious disease%* says +rofessor David Hill% ,ational Travel
Health ,et!or$ and -entre .,aTH,a-/ director&
01 residents visiting their country of origin should also be vaccinated as any i))unity they )ay have built up previously
in their native country !ill have reduced over ti)e&
Water and food safety abroad
Many infectious diseases are trans)itted through conta)inated food and !ater% and insect bites&
ou can reduce your ris$ of these diseases by follo!ing so)e basic guidelines2
Don't drin$ tap !ater or use it to brush your teeth in countries !ith poor sanitation& 0se filtered or bottled
!ater instead&
Don't put ice in drin$s& Bottled fi33y drin$s !ith an intact seal are usually safe% and so are boiled !ater and
hot drin$s )ade !ith boiled !ater&
Don't eat salads% uncoo$ed fruits and vegetables unless you've !ashed and peeled the) yourself&
Don't eat food that has been $ept at roo) te)perature in !ar) environ)ents% or that has been e#posed to
flies&
Don't consu)e unpasteurised )il$% cheese% ice crea) and other dairy products% or ra! or
undercoo$ed seafood&
'ou should only eat freshly prepared food that is thoroughly coo$ed and served piping hot%* says +rofessor Hill&
Bac$ to top
Avoiding insect bites
Try not to go to areas that are highly infested !ith biting insects&
Malaria )os4uitoes bite bet!een dus$ and da!n% so being indoors during these hours can reduce the
nu)ber of bites&
"esearch sho!s that products containing the che)ical D55T are the )ost effective insect repellents and
are safe !hen used correctly&
Mos4uitoes can bite through tight clothing% so !ear loose6fitting long trousers and long sleeves in the
evenings in )alaria hotspots&
Sleep under a )os4uito net to avoid being bitten at night& -arry a s)all se!ing $it so you can repair any
holes thatdevelop&
Bac$ to top
Travellers' diarrhoea (TD)
Travellers' diarrhoea is the )ost co))on illness in people travelling fro) the 01 to developing countries& TD is caused
by eating or drin$ing conta)inated food or !ater& 7oods )ost li$ely to cause TD are those that have not been thoroughly
heated or that have been left out at roo) te)perature&
ou can reduce your ris$ of TD by follo!ing good food and !ater hygiene practices& If you develop TD% drin$ regularly to
avoid dehydration& In )ost cases% TD !ill only last a fe! days but you )ay !ant to pac$ )edications&
7ind out )ore about preventing diarrhoea&
Bac$ to top
alaria
Malaria is a serious and so)eti)es fatal disease that is co))on in tropical countries& It is spread by night6biting fe)ale
)os4uitoes carrying a parasite called plas)odiu)& About 8%9:; people a year return to the 01 !ith )alaria& Most of
the) catch it because they didn<t ta$e any tablets or didn<t ta$e the right ones for the areas they visited&
See your =+ or go to a travel clinic for specific advice and the correct tablets for the country you're visiting before you
travel& Avoiding )os4uito bites !ill also reduce your ris$&
Traveller Ale# -heatle tells ho! he learned the hard !ay !hen he decided to stop ta$ing his )alaria tablets during a
round6the6!orld trip& "ead Ale#'s story&
7ind out )ore about preventing )alaria&
Bac$ to top
Dengue
Dengue is a virus that is spread by an infected Aedes )os4uito% !hich usually bites during the day& Dengue is a ris$ in
areas such as Southeast Asia% the -aribbean and South A)erica& The best !ay to avoid infection is to avoid )os4uito
bites&
Sy)pto)s include fever% headache% )uscle and (oint pain and% in so)e cases% a rash& The illness usually lasts a fe!
days and serious co)plications are unco))on& There is no specific anti6viral treat)ent& Sy)pto)s such as fever and
headache can be treated individually&
7ind out )ore about dengue&
Bac$ to top
!"# and $T"s
0nsafe se#ual behaviour can e#pose travellers to HIV and se#ually trans)itted infections .STIs/% such as gonorrhoea%
chla)ydia or syphilis& Drin$ing too )uch alcohol )ay decrease your inhibitions and )a$e you )ore li$ely to have unsafe
se#&
Avoid se# !ith a ne! or un$no!n partner% and al!ays use condo)s& The condo)s you can buy in developing countries
)ay not be reliable% so buy the) in the 01 and ta$e the) !ith you&
7ind out )ore about STIs&
Bac$ to top
!e%atitis A
Hepatitis A is caused by a virus& It is caught through food or !ater that has been conta)inated by hu)an faeces& 7oods
that gro! close to the ground% such as stra!berries and lettuce% are particularly ris$y& -rustaceans that feed on the
seabed% such as oysters and cla)s% are also a ris$&
Infected people can pass on the virus if they don<t follo! proper hygiene practises& 5arly sy)pto)s include !ea$ness%
loss of appetite% nausea and fever% follo!ed by the onset of (aundice& Highly effective hepatitis A vaccines are available
and should be considered by )ost travellers&
7ind out )ore about preventing Hepatitis A&
Bac$ to top
!e%atitis &
Hepatitis B is caused by one of the )ost co))on viruses !orld!ide& It is a )a(or cause of chronic liver disease and liver
cancer& Sy)pto)s include flu6li$e co)plaints% loss of appetite% nausea% diarrhoea% abdo)inal pains and (aundice&
The virus is spread through se#ual intercourse% blood transfusions% conta)inated needles .including tattoo needles/ and
poorly sterilised )edical and dental e4uip)ent& High6ris$ regions include sub6Saharan Africa% Southeast Asia and the
+acific islands& A vaccine is available for those at ris$ of hepatitis B&
7ind out )ore about hepatitis B&
Bac$ to top
Ty%hoid
Typhoid is a potentially fatal disease caused by the bacteria Sal)onella typhi& Typhoid is ac4uired through conta)inated
food or !ater in areas !ith poor sanitation& The Indian sub6continent has the highest incidence of typhoid&
Sy)pto)s include sudden fever% severe headache% nausea% abdo)inal pain% loss of appetite% constipation or diarrhoea&
Vaccination is reco))ended for travellers visiting high6ris$ areas&
7ind out )ore about preventing typhoid&
Bac$ to top
'ellow fever
ello! fever is a viral disease that is trans)itted by infected )os4uitoes in tropical regions of sub6Saharan Africa and
South A)erica& 5arly sy)pto)s include aching% fever% headache% loss of appetite% nausea and vo)iting& In severe
cases% this can lead to organ failure and death& The disease is preventable by vaccination and is rare in travellers& So)e
countries re4uire you to be vaccinated against yello! fever as a condition for entry&
7ind out )ore about preventing yello! fever&
Bac$ to top
(abies
"abies is caused by a virus that attac$s the central nervous syste)& When it reaches the brain% it causes s!elling%
infla))ation and death& The virus is found in the saliva of infected ani)als% including dogs and bats% and is passed to
hu)ans by bites or scratches&
Africa% Asia and South A)erica are rabies ris$ areas& Vaccination is advised before you travel to high6ris$ areas& If you
get a bite or scratch fro) a potentially infected ani)al% !ash the !ound !ith soap and !ater and see$ urgent )edical
care&
7ind out )ore about preventing rabies&
Bac$ to top
eningitis
Meningitis is the s!elling of the lining around the brain and spinal cord% !hich is caused by different types of ger)s&
5arly sy)pto)s include fever% headache% nausea and vo)iting% (ust li$e )any )ild illnesses& The ger)s% !hich are
present in the nose and throat% can be passed fro) person to person by close and regular contact through coughing%
snee3ing and $issing&
Meningitis ris$ areas include sub6Saharan Africa% !here there are annual outbrea$s& Vaccines are available to travellers
visitinghigh6ris$ 3ones% although the ris$ of )eningitis for tourists is lo!& Vaccination against )eningitis is a re4uire)ent
for pilgri)s attending the Ha(( or 0)rah in Saudi Arabia&