While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently has no travel alerts at the highest “avoid all travel” and “reconsider travel” levels, the government agency in charge of public health has issued a number of travel notices about global disease outbreaks on a smaller scale.
Amid the rapid rise of the chikungunya virus in certain regions of China at the end of July, the CDC reminded any travelers who will be in the country to take steps to prevent mosquito bites.
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While almost never fatal, the virus can cause uncomfortable swelling and joint paint that in some cases have lasted years.
Other level one and two travel advisories focus on dengue fever and malaria in tropical countries, yellow fever in Brazil and Colombia, and measles outbreaks in multiple countries around the world.
European countries singled out for circulating polio in new travel warning
The most recent advisory focuses on the global rise of polio. While almost entirely eradicated in Western countries through widespread availability of the vaccine, the disease that afflicts the nervous system and can lead to paralysis has seen a global resurgence largely due to anti-vaccine stances in developed countries and disruption to vaccination campaigns in developing ones.
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The U.S. government recently added Germany, Finland, the United Kingdom, Kenya and Spain to the list of more than 30 nations with circulating poliovirus. Countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sierra Leone have long remained on the list due to their longstanding challenges in combating the virus.
Travelers to these destinations are advised to become aware of their vaccination status and get a single lifetime booster dose — if not opted out by one’s parents, children typically receive their full immunization schedule by six years of age — if traveling to a place where polio is particularly prevalent.
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“Children and adults should be up to date on their vaccines”: CDC
“Children and adults should be up to date on their routine polio vaccines,” the CDC wrote in its statement. “Adult travelers may get an inactivated polio vaccine booster if they are going to a destination that has circulating poliovirus, have completed their routine polio vaccine series, and have not already received one adult booster dose.”
While most people do not feel sick and experience only mild symptoms after contracting polio, there is no way to know whether one will experience the most extreme symptoms that can lead to lifelong paralysis.
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Polio is also highly infectious and can cause a serious health emergency in areas where spread gets out of control.
“Before any international travel, make sure you are up to date on your polio vaccines,” the new advisory reads further. “Before travel to any destination listed below, adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series may receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine.”
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Make a free appointment with TheStreet’s Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
