Travel Related Illnesses To Beware Of
By Michele Koh Morollo
The stress of travel can lower our immune systems, increasing our susceptible to colds or allergies. However in certain parts of the world, there are ailments more troublesome than the common cold. Travelers, especially those who travel to developing countries, are at risk of picking up dangerous illnesses that are transmitted through insects, contaminated food and water or people. Here are some of the most common travel-related illnesses and ways to prevent or treat them.
Mosquitoes Borne Illnesses
Many fatal diseases are transmitted through mosquitoes. The most common is Malaria, which according to the World Health Organization’s 2010 report, infects than 225 million and kills 781,000 people each year in Africa, India, Central and South America, the Middle East and Oceania and Southeast Asia. Other mosquito borne diseases include Yellow Fever, which is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America, Dengue, most frequently contracted in Southeast Asia, and Japanese encephalitis, which is most often contracted in agricultural regions of Asia, especially during the rainy season from May to September.
Prevention
Except for Dengue, vaccines are available for most of these viruses and should be taken between 10 to 30 days before travel. There are currently four malaria drugs available, which can be taken before and during your trip. Be sure to use mosquito repellant and wear long sleeved T-shirts and pants in mosquito-infested areas. Use mosquito coil and bed nets in your hotel room.
Contaminated Food and Water Illnesses
Contaminated food and water are major causes of the most common and inconvenient travel-related ailment – diarrhoea. Up to 60 percent of travelers succumb to it at some point, with unpasteurized dairy products, contaminated ice, water, seafood, fruit and vegetables or uncooked meats being the usual suspects. More serious food and water transmitted illnesses are Cholera, a bacterial disease of the intestinal tract that is most often found in Indonesia, Eastern Europe and Africa, Typhoid Fever, an intestinal infection caused by salmonella with the highest occurrences in India, Asia, Africa, Central and South America and Hepatitis A, a liver infection that occurs in 20 to 50 percent of travelers in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Prevention
Vaccines are available for Cholera, Hepatitis A and Typhoid Fever and can be taken before travel. When traveling in high-risk areas, avoid dairy products, seafood and raw meats, fruit and vegetables and drink only bottled water. Bring a SteriPEN, a portable water purification device that will allow you to screen and decontaminate your water and wash your hands well before eating. To prevent diarrhoea, take two Pepto-Bismol tablets before each meal and at bedtime. If you are already experiencing diarrhoea, take Imodium and rehydrate with powdered oral rehydration packs.
Illnesses Transmitted Through Human and Animals
Bacteria and viruses can also be transmitted through air particles in crowded places, blood or bodily fluids. Hepatitis B, a liver disease that is 50 times more infectious than HIV is widespread in Africa, India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and some Pacific Islands. Meningitis, most common in sub-Saharan Africa, is an acute bacterial disease of the bloodstream that spreads through the nose or throat mucus of an infected person. The airborne lung infection, Tuberculosis is most common in developing countries in Asia and Africa with over eight million cases occurring worldwide each year. Also beware of being bitten by ferocious bats, dogs, or wild animals with rabies, as the disease is almost always fatal once symptoms appear. One of the most contagious bugs around today is the Norovirus, a virulent stomach flu that can be passed on from person to person, through ingesting contaminated food, being crammed in with infected persons in public transportation or touching contaminated surfaces.
Prevention
To prevent Hepatitis B, get vaccinated six months before your travel date. Avoid getting a tattoo or engaging in unsafe sex as Hepatitis B is most often transmitted through the blood and bodily fluids of an infected person. Meningitis vaccines are only 50 percent effective, so your best bet is to stay away from people who are coughing and sneezing and to wash your hands often. Open the windows and doors of your hotel room as good ventilation prevents the tuberculosis virus from growing. If you will be in countries where the rabies risk is moderate to high, get three rabies vaccine shots over the course of a month before you travel. Do not touch any animals, even if they look tame. The best way to keep Norovirus at bay is to wash your hands, use alcohol based hand sanitizer, avoid crowded places and wash your fruit and vegetable before consumption.
