International Travel & Infectious Disease
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Before Travel: Guidance for Health Professionals
International Travel & Infectious Disease
It is important to understand your patients’ international travel plans and experience. Some trips can be straight forward and handled in the primary care setting (e.g., a healthy young tourist visiting a resort in Cancun, Mexico), while others are complex and require unique counseling and preparation (e.g., travelers at extremes of age, with preexisting medical conditions, requiring complex malaria preventative measures, etc.)
The questions below are essential in understanding travel, providing advice, prescribing medications and vaccines, and in deciding who and when to refer for more comprehensive travelers’ health services.
Ask this screening question for patient travel at every visit
- Will you be traveling internationally in the next year?
If yes,
- Where will you be traveling? Can you share additional details such as:
- To which areas will you be traveling: town(s)/village(s), city(ies), and country(ies)?
- Will you be visiting urban or rural areas (or both)?
- When are you traveling and for how long?
- What are the dates/duration of your travel?
- What is the reason for travel (e.g., business, tourism, student, visiting friends or relatives) and what activities do you expect to engage in while traveling (e.g., mountain climbing, ziplining, etc.)?
- Do you have any concerns about your travel?
- Do you have underlying medical conditions?
- Were you aware that making a specific appointment at a travel clinic is recommended before travel?
If referring to a travel clinic:
- Ensure your patient is up-to-date with all routine and recommended vaccines such as MMR, hepatitis A, COVID-19, and influenza. (CDC Yellow Book)
- Prescribe enough medications for your patient’s chronic conditions, especially if traveling for an extended period.
In unable to refer to a travel clinic:
In addition to the bullets above, consider doing the following for your patients.
- Discuss preventive travelers’ health advice, such as motor vehicle safety (e.g., use of car seats), food and water precautions, insect prevention, and animal safety. More information is available at Guidance for Travelers: During Travel.
- Provide a health care provider letter if needed, indicating need for certain prescription medications that may not otherwise be allowed during travel and abroad. For more information, visit INCB - Guidance for Travellers.
- Offer helpful lists on items to pack. Refer to CDC: Pack Smart.
- Review destination specific disease information.