Exotic Travel: Do Adventure, Don’t Get Sick
International travel around this time of the year is exciting. Because of the global economic crisis you can find good deals to almost destination. Most countries are safe and don’t require extra precautions or vaccinations, but it is helpful to remember a few precautionary steps, just in case.
Salmonella Typhi causes a disease transmitted through food or drinks that are handled or served after poor hand washing or when contaminated sewage gets into drinking or hand-washing water. It causes high fever, headache, body weakness, stomach pain and a rash.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says there are about 300 cases of typhoid fever in the United States every year, the majority resulting from international travelers. The disease is more prevalent in the Indian subcontinent, Latin America, Asia, Middle East and Africa. Although there is a vaccine to prevent infection by S. Typhi, travelers to those countries should know that the vaccine is not a substitution for careful selection of food and drink. So, the CDC reminds us to “boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it†as a rule of thumb when visiting countries with a high prevalence of enteric infections.