February health news: Your travel health checkup

Travel has always been an important part of Gloria Stieber's life. The retired Montreal schoolteacher has been travelling since she was in her 30s and she is grateful for opportunities to visit interesting places with her husband, places her parents never had time to see. She's not alone.

About 77 per cent of baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, are travelling to destinations more exotic than those visited by their parents, and more than half are taking part in adventurous activities like biking and hiking, according to a survey by Leger Marketing. But the same survey also finds that the majority of travellers aren't taking necessary health precautions; only 39 per cent of those who travel to exotic locations always visit their doctor before leaving.

Prevent illness with pretravel shots and prescriptions
Stieber, who has visited such places as China, Turkey and Portugal, is adamant about keeping healthy for travel. For a trip to Thailand about seven years ago, she was vaccinated for hepatitis. Before heading to South Africa, she contacted a doctor of infectious diseases, who informed her that she and her husband should have a tetanus booster, be vaccinated against typhoid fever and begin prescription drugs to prevent malaria. "We would never have thought about going without our vaccinations," says Stieber.

While you're travelling to unknown places, you may come into contact with unfamiliar viruses, too. "There are a lot of diseases out there and you need protection," says Dr. Elliot Mintz, a family physician and associate professor of family medicine at the University of British Columbia.

Be hepatitis wise
The most common vaccine-preventable travel illnesses are hepatitis A and B, both viral infections of the liver. And yet, says Mintz, there are 3,000 new cases in Canada every year.

Hepatitis A is primarily contracted by ingesting infected foods or water, such as swallowing water from a swimming pool, drinking cocktails with contaminated ice, eating uncooked seafood or sampling contaminated fruits and vegetables. Most people have symptoms for three to four weeks; for others, symptoms can last up to a year, and still another 25 per cent will need hospitalization, says Mintz.

Hepatitis B is spread through blood or bodily fluids and can be contracted through sex, first aid with unsterilized medical instruments and contaminated spa tools. "People can get chronic hepatitis [inflammation of the liver that lasts more than six months], and chronic hepatitis is responsible for cancer of the liver, cirrhosis…, liver failure and, ultimately, death," explains Mintz. Other diseases that can strike are traveller's diarrhea, malaria and cholera. These diseases have different treatments and preventions.

Why risk your health? Get vaccinated
According to the World Health Organization, anyone travelling outside of Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Western Europe should be vaccinated for hepatitis. To do so, Mintz explains, visit your family doctor or a travel health clinic at least six weeks before your departure. You'll receive three vaccines, which, upon completion, will give you 99 per cent protection for 15 years. "Don't leave home without them," says Mintz. "We have no treatment for hepatitis A or B, but we can prevent them."

For more information
• Public Health Agency of Canada
• World Health Organization
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention