Traveler's guide to avoiding infectious diseases

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(Page 4)

Infectious diseases and travelers

Malaria

• Insect-borne diseases: murine and tick-borne typhus, West Nile fever, tick-borne encephalitis, Lyme disease
• Water- and food-borne diseases: dysentery, typhoid fever, brucellosis, echinococcosis, Hepatitis A
• Other: Hepatitis B, rabies

Australia, New Zealand, Antarctic

• Insect-borne diseases: mosquito-borne polyarthritis, viral encephalitis
• Water- and food-borne diseases: amebic meningoencephalitis

Melanesia, Micronesia-Polynesia

• Insect-borne diseases: malaria, filariasis, typus, Dengue fever
• Water- and food-borne diseases: dysentery, typhoid fever, intestinal worms (helminthic infections), Hepatitis A
• Other: Hepatitis B, trachoma

MALARIA

Malaria is one of the most important infectious diseases in the world, affecting millions of people every year. Malaria is not a problem in cold climates, and is a lesser problem in temperate climates, but it is a threat to those living or traveling in subtropical and tropical climates.

Resistance of the malaria organism changes rapidly, and frequent updating on resistant strains, especially the falciparum, is necessary for safe travel. Travelers should visit the CDC Web site for complete, up-to-date information: www.cdc.gov/travel. Prophylaxis -- medicine to prevent malaria -- is recommended for travelers to endemic regions. Malaria prophylaxis usually involves taking a medication prior to travel, during travel, and for a short period after returning.

YELLOW FEVER

There is an effective vaccination for yellow fever -- a mosquito-borne, frequently fatal viral infection that causes fever, jaundice, and bleeding. Travelers to areas where yellow fever is present should be vaccinated a minimum of 10 days prior to entering a yellow fever zone. Certificates of immunization may be required for entrance into some countries if the travel has just been in an endemic zone.

• SOUTH AMERICA: Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, French Guyana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Surinam, Venezuela
• AFRICA: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zaire, Zambia

Review Date: 03/06/2006
Reviewed By: Monica Gandhi MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.