The health risks of international travel are often overlooked, and a lack of
information may mean you bring home more than that next big sale.
With more people traveling overseas, experts say unprepared travelers are
taking dangerous and unnecessary risks.
Because many companies in Greater
Cleveland do business internationally, employees are traveling to facilities
and customers worldwide.
Those traveling overseas can turn to the Cleveland Clinic, University
Hospitals Health System and Metro Health Medical Center, which are all
members of the International Society of Travel Medicine, an organization
that links physicians around the world, providing information on localized
diseases and corresponding immunizations.
The hospitals can provide information on international disease outbreaks,
comparing your itinerary with these outbreaks and recommending precautions.
Even the flight home is not completely safe if it includes celebrating with
a cocktail that contains ice made from water from in the city you just left.
Many viruses, including those that cause travelers’ diarrhea and Hepatitis
A, are carried in food and water.
Water is something we take for granted but water in other countries poses a
health risk to many Americans.
“It≠s the general medical miracle of clean water,” says Dr. Steven
Mawhorter, a physician with the Department of Infectious Diseases at the
Cleveland Clinic.
Another concern is malaria. It may sound like an exotic disease, but
“malaria is alive and well, and will always be, quite frankly,” says
Mawhorter.
Malaria is prevalent in much of the world, especially in Thailand, which has
some of the most drug-resistant strains known.
“If you≠re going to Thailand and only going to be in big cities, you’re
probably fine,” says Mawhorter. “If you≠re going to Thailand on a business
trip to the big cities but you≠re going to take that one interesting side
trip … you may need malaria treatment.”
So when work or pleasure takes you outside American borders, it’s wise to
understand the health issues at your destination and take preventive
measures. It’s like updating your passport to a healthy future.
