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After your flight
Travelling worldwide often brings with it some risk to health. By taking certain precautions and simple steps, your travels whether on business or pleasure, should not be hazardous. Food and drink Food and water may be contaminated in a variety of ways. Traveller's diarrhoea is often caused by an organism called campylobacter and is especially common in tropical climates. Traveller's diarrhoea, as well as many other illnesses including Typhoid, Cholera and Hepatitis A, can all be caused by contaminated food and water
Take care in the sun Many people travel with only one objective - to seek the sun. The sun should be enjoyed but overexposure can cause severe sunburn leading to premature skin ageing and increased risk of skin cancer. It is the ultra violet rays which cause this even in temperate climate like the United Kingdom. It is particularly important to care for children, and young infants should never be placed in direct sunlight. Avoid over exposure to the sun for at least 2/3 hours around the middle of the day. Cover up and wear a hat.
Insects and animal bites Many diseases such as Malaria, Yellow Fever and Rabies are spread by the bites of insects or animals. Avoid insect and animal bites. This should be easy by obeying a few simple rules. Use insect repellents on skin which might be exposed and use knock down/residual insecticides in your accommodation before going to bed, i.e. fly sprays. Most insect species are attracted to light and feed between dusk and dawn. Most species of crawling insects will only sting or bite if you interfere with their habitat or tread on them accidentally.
Malaria Seek advice before travelling abroad. This is a parasitic disease spread by the bites of infected mosquitoes. Malaria produces a fever like illness and in some cases complications arise affecting the kidneys, liver, brain and can be fatal. Malaria is a major health problem throughout the Tropics and some forms are particularly life threatening. Do not take chances. The incubation period for developing malaria is usually up to four weeks but, occasionally can be very much longer, and it takes only one infected mosquito to get you into trouble. Ask your doctor or travel clinic about anti malarial protection several weeks before travel.
Dengue Fever and Yellow Fever Dengue Fever and its more severe form, Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever, occurs throughout the Tropics. This disease is also transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. No vaccine is available to prevent this disease but the same rules apply. Yellow Fever is caught from the bite of an infected mosquito and occurs in parts of Africa and South America. Vaccine is available and gives the traveller protection for ten years. Advice should be sought from a doctor or travel clinic because the vaccine is only available at registered centres. Do not expose yourself to mosquitoes.
Feral animals and rabies Feral animals - animal bites can set up severe infections such as Rabies which can be serious and sometimes fatal. Be wary of apparently tame animals. Do not attempt to feed them or treat them as domestic pets. Appearance and looks are often misleading. Feral cats and dogs, often lurking around hotels and swimming pools, carry gastro intestinal diseases such as salmonella, campylobacter and worm infestations. Rabies is an acute viral infection of the central nervous system and those affected, following a bite from a rabid animal, develop delirium and muscle spasms. Once symptoms develop in the non-immune or unprotected human being, this disease is often fatal. Rabies occurs in animals in Europe and North America as well as in the less developed countries
Take care in the water - Bilharzia Bilharzia is a parasitic disease caused by a worm which is most common in water ways in Africa and Asia. The worm can penetrate the skin and can get into the intestines, liver and urinary system and cause untold damage. The disease can be treated but no preventative vaccine is available. Visitors to areas where Bilharzia is prevalent should avoid wading or bathing in streams, rivers and lakes. Bilharziasis does not exist in sea water.
Cholera Cholera is a severe intestinal infection that causes acute watery, bloody diarrhoea, gross dehydration and can be fatal. It is caught by consuming contaminated food and water. It has increasingly become a problem in areas of poor sanitation in South America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. It often becomes endemic following natural disasters such as earthquakes and severe flooding. It is relatively uncommon among travellers not involved in aid work and medical care and can be avoided by scrupulous attention to food and personal hygiene. No vaccine against Cholera has proved effective and no country requires Cholera immunisation as an official condition of entry.
Typhoid and Dysentery Typhoid is acquired through the consumption of contaminated food or water. Immunisation against the disease should be considered by those travelling to areas with primitive sanitation. Scrupulous care over the handling of food and water will eliminate the risk of infection.
Dysentery is an acute bacterial disease which involves the large and small intestine and is characterised by diarrhoea accompanied by fever, nausea, vomiting and sometimes general septicaemia. This can be a very severe illness and can be fatal particularly in the very old or young infants.
Further information A number of very useful publications are available on travel hygiene and health. Information and these publications will be found in your local library, GP surgery or in the many travel clinics available within the United Kingdom.
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