Where Do I Need Travel Vaccinations to Visit?

If you plan on exploring remote parts of the world, your preparation needs to start months before you get onto the plane. The first steps should be the medical precautions to protect your health on holiday. The risk of contracting diseases like malaria, hepatitis and typhoid fever increase dramatically upon visiting certain regions. 

 

Here Simplexity’s UK Travel Agents have provided a quick guide to what medical precautions are required prior to travelling.

Hepatitis A

What
Hepatitis A is a virus most often caught through food and water being contaminated with the faeces of infected humans. It can cause serious liver damage.

Where
Hepatitis A is usually prevalent in areas with poor sewage and food hygiene facilities outside of the Northern and Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America.

Precautions
An effective vaccine exists and is readily available. It is free on the NHS.

Hepatitis B

What
Hepatitis B is another virus harmful to the liver, causing cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Where
Prevalence is highest in sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia. In these areas, as many as 1 in 10 adults suffer from chronic infection.

Precautions
An effective vaccine exists and is readily available – often given concurrently with the Hepatitis A vaccine. Otherwise, you will have to arrange the injection privately.

Cholera

What
A bacterium which is spread in contaminated drinking water, causing dangerous diarrhoea and vomiting.

Where
Usually disaster areas, places with very minimal water infrastructure and developing countries with poor sanitations.

Precautions
Usually, taking proper hygiene precautions alone is usually enough to avoid infection, even in high risk areas, if on a recreational holiday. Those most at risk are aid workers in areas with damaged water and medical infrastructure. A free vaccination is available on the NHS.

Typhoid Fever

What
A highly contagious bacterium that is transmitted via food and drink. It is caused typhoid fever, whose complications can kill if untreated.

Where
The highest risk areas are in the Indian subcontinent. Other high risk areas include: Africa, South and South-East Asia, South America, The Middle East, Europe.

Precautions
There are two vaccines available, but neither is 100% effective. When traveling to high risk areas, only drink bottled water and do not eat foods that could be contaminated.

Malaria

What
Malaria is transmitted by mosquito bites, but isn’t a viral or bacterial infection. There is no vaccination. Rather, one can make one’s blood uninhabitable to the malarial protozoa by taking tables.

Where
Equatorial regions across the world: equatorial Africa, India, the Middle East, India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and South & Central America north of Argentina.

Precautions
Diligently completing your antimalarial course will greatly reduce the risk of developing malaria greatly. It is important to keep taking the tablets even after returning to the UK. Avoiding bites with long-fitting clothing, insect repellents and mosquito nets will also help avoid risk.

Wherever you are travelling, Simplexity’s UK Travel Agents will prepare you for your journal with minimal stress, allowing you to look forward to your holiday knowing everything is in place.

Call us today on 0203 535 9290 or email info@simplexitytravel.com.Â