Travelling safely

By Katharine MacColl

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TRAVELLING abroad always carries some risks to your health, but by taking certain precautions you can minimise your exposure to some major hazards.

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Malaria

One of the worst problems facing travellers is malaria, a parasitic disease spread by infected mosquitos. Start a course of antimalarial drugs before departure. There is a particularly virulent strain of�malaria in the Meru district of Kenya and travellers are advised to seek medical advice before departure.

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Yellow fever

A certificate of vaccination of yellow fever is required by international travellers in some cases.

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People heading to lush shores of Mauritius this year will need to consider malaria and yellow fever jabs before they go. Anyone travelling to Gambia, Mauritania, Mozambique, Somalia, Zambia, or Zimbabwe need to get advice on river blindness.

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Other�nasties

Others ones to watch out for�include; dengue fever, dysentery�and Hepatitis A, in most parts of Asia, Africa and South America, while�further delights such as jungle fever and plague will be on travellers' list of precautions in Brazil.

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According to www.travelhealthzone.com people can get the following vaccinations on the NHS before departure: Typhoid, Hepatitis A, Polio, Tetanus and Diphtheria, Meningoccal, and Hepatits B. Available privately are yellow fever, rabies, Japense B encephalitis and tick-borne encephalitis.

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For those worried about the deadly�ebola virus,�fortunately it's still relatively uncommon, generally limited to�the central basin of Africa.

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Closer to home, experts say people heading to Spain for their summer hols should bear in mind the importance of drinking bottled water and washing fruit before eating. Apparently, one of the major problems affecting European travellers is salmonella.