Smart Travel: Travel medicine increasingly important for tourists

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Linda and Dr. Don Overend are principals in The Travel Group, a full-service travel agency.|ret||ret||tab|

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Americans live in the cleanest, most disease-free country in the world. When we travel, especially to undeveloped or developing countries, we can become victims to diseases that are rampant in these countries and to which we have no immunity.|ret||ret||tab|

Medical protection for travelers is available, and if you are traveling to one of these areas of the world you should avail yourself of such protection. There is a medical specialty that is trained to know the diseases present in any geographical location and to prepare travelers to travel in good health. That specialty is travel medicine, a newer and small specialty, but becoming increasingly important as the world population becomes more mobile and can reach distant destinations in a very short time.|ret||ret||tab|

Diseases such as malaria, typhoid, dengue fever and hepatitis are common in many tropical countries. Malaria is serious and often fatal, transmitted by mosquito bites, and is preventable with a variety of special medications. Typhoid and hepatitis are characteristic of countries with low levels of sanitation and the rarity of refrigeration for foods. Meningococcal meningitis is a very serious disease that is endemic in parts of north and central Africa and is transmitted as a respiratory disease. All of these are preventable either by medication or immunization.|ret||ret||tab|

Since the fragmentation of Russia there has been a resurgence of the "diseases of poverty." Diphtheria, tuberculosis and polio are again making their rounds in some of the new satellite states because of lack of immunizations in these countries. Travelers to these destinations should be sure their boosters for these diseases are current.|ret||ret||tab|

Less severe, but certainly disconcerting for travelers is diarrhea, aka Montezuma's Revenge or Turkish Trots. Although this condition is rarely fatal, it can ruin a trip for the unlucky traveler who encounters the disease. There are medications that can be prescribed to put a near-immediate end to this unpleasant malady.|ret||ret||tab|

Don't be afraid to plan a trip to a developing country; there are wonderful things to see in most of these destinations. It is easy to prepare yourself for a safe and healthy visit to any place in the world. All you need to do is visit a travel medicine physician who will assess your general health, evaluate your proposed itinerary and prepare you for safe travel with advice, medications or immunizations appropriate for your trip. Plan such a visit at least two weeks prior to your departure as some important immunizations require that amount of time to take full effect.|ret||ret||tab|

If you plan a trip to a high-risk destination or even a suspicious one, ask your physician or your travel agent to refer you to a travel medicine specialist. It's the safest way to go.|ret||ret||tab|

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