CDC Releases Updated Guide to Healthy International Travel

In the midst of a very busy summer travel season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on July 13^th the release "Yellow Book", a guide to healthy international travel. Released every other year, the guide is officially titled "Health Information for International Travel." Because risks to body and health vary drastically from locale to locale, this guide is meant to prepare travelers for the dangers unique to the area in which they will travel.

Dr. Christie Reed, team lead for the CDC's travelers' health group, commented, "More than 63 million Americans travel abroad each year. This book can help prepare travelers for their trips, or help them learn how to stay safe and healthy while overseas." Reed went on to say, "The Yellow Book serves as the gold standard of travel health recommendations. We want travelers, health care providers and those in the travel industry to have the best information and health care recommendations for traveling abroad."

Travel health recommendations in the Yellow Book range from ordinary occurrences like diarrhea suffered due to local food or water to more unusual occurrences like earthquakes and tsunamis. In the 2007-2008 edition, newly-added sections include the latest guidance on necessary vaccinations prior to travel and other steps that can be taken to prevent the spread of diseases like malaria. An expanded section also focuses on preventing injuries and blood-clots that can form during hours-long overseas flights. Called deep-vein thrombosis, the Yellow Book advises international travelers to frequently move their arms and legs to prevent a life-threatening medical emergency.

Other areas receiving attention in the Yellow Book include sunburn and other skin diseases, specific health risks for humanitarian workers, managing ongoing illnesses while traveling, protecting the health of children and infants during travel, and jet lag.

Another expanded subject in the 2007-2008 edition focuses on the occurrence of automobile accidents while traveling in foreign countries. Because driving laws and customs can vary dramatically, the Yellow Book advises travelers to always wear their seatbelts, the most important step towards preventing grievous car accident injuries. With health issues making frequent news on cruise ships, the Yellow Book also contains advice to cruise-goers on avoiding sickness due to the norovirus, a gastrointestinal illness that is highly contagious.

Discussing the usefulness of this guide, Reed said "This book contains must-have information for the traveling public including families, students, missionaries and volunteers, multinational corporations, the travel industry, as well as for doctors, nurses and pharmacists."

The Yellow Book is available to travelers in print and multimedia formats. Health publisher Elsevier offers the Yellow Book for sale at major bookstores, online book outlets or directly through their website at www.us.elsevierhealth.com. The 648-page book is priced at $24.95. The online version of the Yellow Book can be accessed through http://www.cdc.gov/travel/, a site the CDC reports as one of their most-visited. The print edition is updated biennially; electronic updates are made available whenever new information is relevant.

Reference:

"CDC Travel Health Book Advises Travelers on Hazards Both Ordinary and Extraordinary." (http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/2007/r070713.htm)