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Pre-travel advisory for travelers

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Breaking new dimensions.

You’ve booked your flight, are finishing up any last-minute business at work and home, and are getting ready to pack for your trip to Africa. Getting extra injections isn’t high on your “to do” list because you’ve had a number of travel shots recently (hopefully! ), but some last-minute research reveals that a Yellow Fever vaccine might be one of the immunizations needed for your trip. This is a problem because, until at least mid-2019, a last-minute Yellow Fever vaccine is frequently more difficult to find than a six-leaf clover (or at least 5-leaf).

What makes a vaccine REQUIRED as opposed to RECOMMENDED?

This is a query that comes into our NYC travel medicine clinic almost daily.

You will require the vaccine if a nation forbids you from entering (or, in rare cases, taking part in) a certain event without it. Although the majority of the time it is, it does not always mean that the injection is advised by any organization, such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

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Three examples of REQUIRED vaccinations:

  1. traveling to Uganda, where all travelers over the age of nine months are needed to get a Yellow Fever Vaccination, and then onto South Africa, where the shot is necessary for admittance. You need to receive the vaccine because you recently left a country where you run the risk of getting yellow fever, and South Africa, like many other nations, mandates travelers from those nations to do so 10 days before entering their borders.
  2. Spending more than four weeks in Pakistan (or other polio-endemic countries)… You must have a booster injection against polio between 4 weeks and 12 months before you can LEAVE the country.
  3. You must receive a meningitis vaccination if you plan to perform the Hajj.

You have the option of skipping the RECOMMENDED travel vaccinations, but doing so might not be in your best benefit. If you fail to get a REQUIRED travel vaccination, you risk having your trip cut short at the border. You might not be able to prevent your trip from being postponed or cancelled even with paperwork proving that you are unable to receive specific injections due to medical reasons!

Before your trip, think about speaking with a travel medicine professional to find out which vaccinations are advised and which, if any, are required. Avoiding the first kind of immunization could be bad for your health; however, doing so with the second could cause your trip to be cut short.

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Existing medical conditions

If you are over a certain age, have been in an accident, or have a medical condition that would prevent you from traveling normally, it is advised that you have a medical checkup. Your doctor will be able to determine whether you are well enough to travel, when you may go on your next trip, and whether your current medical conditions will worsen while you are away.

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Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) and Travel

Every fifth traveler recalls having sex with a new partner while away from home. The exhilaration of visiting a foreign country and meeting new people may tempt travelers to engage in activities they would not normally do at home. Travelers who indulge in unprotected intercourse run the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) like HIV, chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea (whether vaginal, anal, or oral). You or your partner may not be aware that you or they are sick because many STDs have no symptoms or warning signs. While the majority of STDs are curable, some can have serious health consequences if left untreated. Usually, it is better to avoid getting an STD.

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) continue to be a significant public health issue. Nearly a million people worldwide contract an infection each day. Similar to this, it is predicted that 357 million new cases of one of the four STDs—chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and trichomoniasis—occur year. Travelers are particularly exposed due to voluntary or involuntary sexual behavior. If you’re visiting Atlanta, Georgia, you can discover a cheap Atlanta STD Testing Center there. Then, if you’re on your way to New York City, stop by the NYC STD Testing Clinic.

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