The International Traveler's Guide to Avoiding Infections

Book excerpt: The last thing a world traveler wants is to get sick. To stay healthy, travelers need to protect themselves from viruses, bacteria, and parasites, including many they have seldom, if ever, encountered. With precise, simple explanations, this indispensable guide helps international travelers avoid common—and uncommon—infections wherever they go. Relating important medical findings, Dr. Charles E. Davis provides the latest recommendations for healthy travel planning. He describes the precautions travelers can take to prevent infection, including • pre-trip travel clinic visits • essential immunizations and medications • travel insurance and medical kits • safe food and water practices • personal protection measures • post-trip checkups The International Traveler's Guide to Avoiding Infections is organized by disease, with highly accessible discussions and detailed illustrations of all the major travelers' infections. Maps make it easy to see where infections are commonly acquired, and specific prevention strategies for each destination enhance travel planning. Tourists and professionals such as military personnel, journalists, aid workers, and businesspeople need the tools provided here to stay healthy during their trip and after they return home.