Vaccinations for Travel

By: Levina Entel

Is your son or daughter planning to study abroad?  Are you planning a family trip outside of the United States?  Now is a great time to double-check that everyone is up to date on vaccinations.

Some travel-related diseases that can be prevented through immunization include:

Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Rabies, Typhoid Fever, Japanese Encephalitis, Yellow Fever, and Meningitis.

You should also make sure that you and your children are up to date on all other immunizations, such as MMR (mumps, measles, rubella), varicella (chicken pox), polio and Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis).  Depending upon where you travel, also check with your doctor about medication to protect against malaria.

Before you leave, contact your doctor, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or your local state health department to find out which vaccines are required or recommended for the country to which you are traveling.

For more detailed information about these and other vaccines, check out the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/vaccines.