International Travel
Announcement
Guidance for Relief Workers an Others Traveling to Haiti for Earthquake Response
Before Traveling Overseas
Preparing for international travel is more than getting shots and your passport. Destinations and related health issues, along with personal safety, vary widely and need to be considered on an individual basis.
The Indiana State Department of Health wants Hoosiers who travel to have a healthy and safe international experience. An international travel clinic is the best resource for discussing international travel immunizations. The staff will either have access to your medical history or will ask appropriate medical history questions and will advise you on necessary immunizations for your travel destination.
When traveling overseas, the Indiana State Department of Health encourages travelers to seek an international travel clinic specialist for quicker availability of vaccines associated with international travel. Some vaccines such as yellow fever (required in some countries) can only be obtained by going to an international travel clinic. The Indiana State Department of Health also recognizes that many known and unknown risks from endemic diseases exist when traveling abroad. A travel clinic specialist may be more aware of emerging diseases and current disease outbreaks in a given region. Therefore, seeking a specialist in the area of foreign travel is recommended.
Many authorities have recognized an additional new risk group known as VFRs (Visiting Friends and Relatives). This new risk group comprised 40% of international travelers in 2002 and have the potential to expose themselves and their children to diseases when returning to their country of origin. The Indiana State Department of Health recommends that foreign born Hoosiers who are traveling abroad to visit friends and relatives exercise greater caution due to inherent risks for small children and possible decreased immunity (for adults) to certain diseases endemic to a given country.
Click here for a list of International Travel Clinics.
To help guide you through the information you should know when traveling internationally, click on the appropriate picture:
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