Traveler's diarrhea

Travelers' diarrhea, the number one illness in travelers, can be caused by viruses, bacteria, or parasites, which can contaminate food or water. Infections may cause diarrhea and vomiting (E. coli, Salmonella, cholera, and parasites), fever (typhoid fever and toxoplasmosis), or liver damage (hepatitis). Make sure your food and drinking water are safe. (See below.)

Malaria

There is no malaria in Western Europe.

Yellow Fever

A certificate of yellow fever vaccination may be required for entry into certain of these countries if you are coming from countries in tropical South America or subSaharan Africa. (There is no risk for yellow fever in Western Europe.) For detailed information, seeYellow Fever Comprehensive Vaccination Requirements.

Tickborne encephalitis, a viral infection of the central nervous system, occurs chiefly in Central and Western Europe. Travelers are at risk who visit or work in forested areas during the summer months and who consume unpasteurized dairy products. The vaccine for this disease is not available in the United States at this time. To prevent tickborne encephalitis, as well as Lyme disease, travelers should take precautions to prevent tick bites

Vaccine information

CDC-Recommended Vaccines (as Appropriate for Age and Area Visited):

See your doctor at least 4–6 weeks before your trip to allow time for shots to take effect.

• Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG). You are not at increased risk in Northern and Western Europe, but there is some risk in Southern Europe and the countries bordering the Mediterranean, as well as Portugal.
• Hepatitis B, if you might be exposed to blood (for example, health-care workers), have sexual contact with the local population, stay longer than 6 months in Southern Europe, or be exposed through medical treatment.
• As needed, booster doses for tetanus-diphtheria. Hepatitis B vaccine is now recommended for all infants and for children ages 11–12 years who did not complete the series as infants.

Important precautions

To Stay Healthy, Do:

• Wash hands frequently with soap and water.
• Drink only bottled or boiled water, or carbonated (bubbly) drinks in cans or bottles. Avoid tap water, fountain drinks, and ice cubes. If this is not possible, make water safer by BOTH filtering through an "absolute 1-micron or less" filter AND adding iodine tablets to the filtered water. "Absolute 1-micron filters" are found in camping/outdoor supply stores.
• Eat only thoroughly cooked food or fruits and vegetables you have peeled yourself. Remember: boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it.
• If you will be visiting an area where there is risk for malaria, take your malaria prevention medication before, during, and after travel, as directed. (See your doctor for a prescription.)
• Protect yourself from insects by remaining in well-screened areas, using repellents (applied sparingly at >4-hour intervals) and permethrin-impregnated mosquito nets, and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants from dusk through dawn.
• To prevent fungal and parasitic infections, keep feet clean and dry, and do not go barefoot.
• Always use condoms to reduce the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

To Avoid Getting Sick:

• Don’t eat food purchased from street vendors.
• Don’t drink beverages with ice.
• Don’t eat dairy products unless you know they have been pasteurized.
• Don’t share needles with anyone.
• Don’t handle animals (especially monkeys, dogs, and cats), to avoid bites and serious diseases (including rabies and plague).
• Don’t swim in fresh water. Salt water is usually safer.

What You Need To Bring with You:

• Long-sleeved shirt and long pants to wear while outside whenever possible, to prevent illnesses carried by insects (e.g., malaria, dengue, filariasis, leishmaniasis, and onchocerciasis).
• Insect repellent containing DEET (diethylmethyltoluamide), in 30%–35% strength for adults and 6%–10% for children, as well as a bed net impregnated with the insecticide permethrin. (Bed nets can be purchased in camping or military supply stores.) Bed nets may also protect against insect bites that transmit Chagas' disease.
• Over-the-counter antidiarrheal medicine to take if you have diarrhea.
• Iodine tablets and water filters to purify water if bottled water is not available. See Do’s above for more detailed information about water filters.
• Sunblock, sunglasses, hat.
• Prescription medications: make sure you have enough to last during your trip, as well as a copy of the prescription(s).

After you return home

If you have visited an area where there is risk for malaria, continue taking your malaria medication weekly for 4 weeks after you leave the area. If you become ill—even as long as a year after your trip—tell your doctor the areas you have visited.

For more information

Ask your doctor or check CDC web sites for more information about how to protect yourself against diseases that occur in Australia and the South Pacific, such as diseases:

Carried by Insects:

• Lyme disease

Carried in Food or Water:

• Escherichia coli diarrhea
• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid Fever

Person-to-Person Contact:

• Hepatitis B
• HIV / AIDS

This information gratefully obtained from the CDC.
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