International travel and health

Overview

Almost 940 million international journeys were undertaken in 2010. Global travel on this scale exposes many people to a range of health risks – different disease agents and changes in temperature, altitude and humidity are just some of these risks – all of which can lead to ill-health. Many of these risks, however, can be minimized by precautions taken before, during and after travel.

This book explains how travellers can stay healthy and provides WHO guidance on vaccinations, malaria chemoprophylaxis and treatment, personal protection against insects and other disease vectors, and safety in different environmental settings. It covers all the principal risks to travellers’ health, both during their journeys and at their destinations. It describes all relevant infectious diseases, including their causative agents, modes of transmission, clinical features and geographical distribution, and provides details of prophylactic and preventive measures.

Features of this new edition include:

• information for last minute travellers
• updated and improved vaccine-preventable disease descriptions
• updated vaccine recommendations and schedules
• revised list of countries and areas at risk of yellow fever
• updated country list with malaria information
• updated maps showing disease distribution

This book is intended for the medical and public health professionals who advise travellers, but it is also a standard reference for travel agents, airlines and shipping companies – and for travellers themselves. Continuous updates are freely available on the Internet at www.who.int/ith