If international travel is part of your plan to ring in the Year of the Water Buffalo (January 26, 2009), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wants you to have a fun AND healthy trip!  Use the information below to learn how to stay healthy when traveling to Asia.  

Health Issues to Know About

Every destination, even in different areas of the same country, has unique health issues that travelers need to know about.  To find specific information about the areas you plan to visit, see the East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia regional pages on the CDC Travelers’ Health website, or click on the country or countries you will be visiting on the destinations page. 

 

Mosquito-borne illnesses, such as malaria, dengue fever, and Japanese encephalitis, are common throughout Asia, so it is very important to take steps to prevent insect bites.  In addition, you may need to take prescription medicine to protect yourself from malaria or get a vaccine to protect yourself from Japanese encephalitis.  Talk to your doctor about which prevention measures are right for you and your destination.

Eating contaminated food and drinking contaminated water can cause illnesses such as hepatitis A, typhoid fever, and travelers’ diarrhea.  Learn more about these diseases and how you can prevent them by visiting the Safe Food and Water page of the Travelers’ Health website.

Influenza (also called the flu or seasonal flu) is a common illness in travelers, which is why it is important for you to get this season’s flu shot before your trip. A different type of flu called avian influenza  (“bird flu” or H5N1) has been found in poultry and wild birds in Asia, Europe, and Africa.  While rare, human infection and death from H5N1 have been reported.  Most of these human cases have occurred through contact with H5N1-infected poultry or birds, but a small number of cases may have occurred following close and prolonged contact with a person who was sick with the H5N1 virus. To learn more about H5N1 virus, see the outbreak notice Human Infection with Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Virus: Advice for Travelers.

What to Do Before Your trip

• It is important to prepare for your health before you leave. Learn how by visiting Your Survival Guide to Safe and Healthy Travel.
• At least 4-6 weeks before your trip, make an appointment to see a doctor familiar with travel medicine.
• At the appointment, make sure to get all the vaccinations and medicines you need for your trip and discuss any allergies, current medications, or other health concerns with the doctor.
• Be sure that you are up-to-date with all of your routine vaccinations, including this season’s flu shot.
• Pack health items that you and your family may need on your trip.  See Travelers’ Health Kit or Pack Smart on the Travelers’ Health website for a complete list of health items CDC recommends that you bring with you.
• Make a plan for what to do if you get sick during your trip, including where to go for medical care if you need it.  Learn more by visiting Illness and Injury Abroad and Medical Information for Americans Abroad from the U.S. Department of State.

Stay Healthy During Your Trip

• Wash your hands often with soap and clean water. Use an alcohol-based hand gel with at least 60% alcohol if soap and clean water are not available and your hands do not look dirty.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Remember to cover your cough:
  • Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.
  • Put your used tissue in a wastebasket.
  • Clean your hands after coughing or sneezing by washing them with soap and water (or by using an alcohol-based hand gel containing at least 60% alcohol).
• Go to the doctor if you have a fever with a cough or sore throat, are having difficulty breathing, or feel very sick. Tell the doctor if you may have been around a sick person or an animal that looked sick.
• Avoid traveling when you are sick, unless it is to get local medical care.
• Do not go to bird farms or live bird markets.
• Avoid touching—
  • Live birds, including chickens, ducks, and wild birds, even if they do not seem sick.
  • Dead or sick chickens, ducks, or any other birds.
  • Surfaces that have bird droppings, blood, or other body fluids on them.
• Make sure the meat and other foods from birds that you eat, like eggs and poultry blood, are fully cooked.  Egg yolks should not be runny or liquid.  Visit the Safe Food and Water page on the Travelers’ Health website for more information.
• Keep raw meats away from other foods.�
• After touching raw poultry or eggs, wash your hands and all surfaces, dishes, and utensils thoroughly with soap and water.
• Use insect repellent to prevent bites from insects and mosquitoes that can transmit malaria, dengue, and other infections.  If you are visiting an area with malaria, take your malaria prevention medicine.
• Use sunscreen (at least SPF 15).  Be sure to apply sunscreen before applying insect repellent.
• Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of injury-related deaths worldwide, so it is important to take precautions. Don’t drink and drive.  Always wear a seatbelt when traveling in a moving vehicle and a helmet when you ride bicycles and motorcycles.�
• Follow local laws and customs.
• Be careful and stay alert in crowds.

Pay Attention to Your Health After Your Trip

• Pay very close attention to how you feel for at least 10 days after you get home.  Go to the doctor right away if you—
  • have a fever with a cough or sore throat, or have trouble breathing.
  • have a fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, or flu-like illness and visited an area with a risk for malaria.
• When you go to the doctor, tell your doctor about your recent travel.
• Avoid traveling if you are sick, unless it is to go to the doctor.
• Malaria can develop up to 1 year after travel, so stay alert for fever or other signs of illness.  Make sure you continue to take your malaria pills until your prescription is finished.

Additional Information

To learn more about avian influenza (“bird flu”) in people, visit these websites:

• World Health Organization (WHO) Avian Influenza
• CDC Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)