Traveling yes, but in safety. In some areas, in addition to health risks related to environmental conditions such as areas with extreme heat or cold, some infectious diseases are widespread whose prevention should be planned before the trip. Those who want to travel to risk areas should, in fact, go to a travel medicine clinic and consult their doctor at least 4-6 weeks before departure, recommends in a note the ASL Toscana Sud Est which provides a clinic dedicated to travel medicine managed by the Department of Prevention. “The consultation can be booked, even without a doctor’s request, through the CUP, but for correct vaccination planning, it is advisable to call at least 2 months before departure”.
The consultation interview allows health workers to gather information on risk factors, recommended and mandatory vaccinations, any antimalarial drugs to take, and behavioral measures to adopt. “A specialist medical consultation is particularly recommended for people with pathologies in order to guarantee and protect their health during the trip,” the ASL indicates.
For some infectious diseases “such as hepatitis A and B, cholera, typhoid, Japanese encephalitis, dengue, tick-borne encephalitis, meningococcal meningitis, polio, yellow fever and rabies, – explains Nicola Vigiani, director of the Public Hygiene and Nutrition department of the ASL Tse, – vaccines are available, while for other diseases both orofecally transmitted, that is, acquired through the consumption of contaminated water or food, and transmitted by insects such as Chikungunya, the West Nile virus and the Zika virus, behavioral prevention measures must be adopted, consuming only safe water and food and avoiding insect bites by using suitable clothing and specific repellents.
A special case is that of malaria, “transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito, for which there is no vaccine, but for which there is a chemoprophylaxis to be taken during the trip. Vaccination against yellow fever is mandatory to visit some countries in Africa and South America, while those going to Saudi Arabia to take part in the pilgrimage to Mecca are required to have the meningococcal vaccination. The fact that some vaccinations are not mandatory does not make them any less important, and therefore it is still recommended to undergo all the required vaccinations”.
If, upon returning from a country at risk, you experience fever, diarrhea or other symptoms that may appear even after a few days or weeks from the date of return, it is best to isolate yourself and contact your doctor or the emergency room, reporting that you have traveled so that the appropriate diagnostic tests can be carried out promptly. It is also useful to consult the website www.viaggiaresicuri.it/ of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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