Advice and Information

Travelling abroad

Around 70 million visits abroad were made by UK residents in 2006, three times the number made in 1987. The most popular reason for travelling abroad is for holidays but people also travel to visit friends and relatives, for business reasons, to study, as well as for many other reasons. The majority of UK residents travel to European countries but increasingly, people are travelling to more tropical destinations in south east Asia, the Indian-sub continent, south and central America, and Africa.

Foreign travel involves many experiences of different cultures and climates, but alongside these, there may also be the risk of exposure to diseases that are not as common, or exist at all, in the UK. As part of pre-travel preparations, travellers must ensure they are aware of any possible risks they may encounter while abroad and take steps to reduce them.

The Health Protection Agency does not give travel health advice directly to members of the public, but it works closely with the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC), who develop travel health advice for doctors, practice nurses, pharmacists, and other health professionals to ensure they are up to date with current developments in travel medicine and can provide a comprehensive travel health advice service to the public. NaTHNaC have produced health advice for each country on their Country Information Pages, allowing health professionals and the public to assess what health risks may affect the traveller and how best to reduce those risks. Various fact sheets on many travel-related issues are also available on the NaTHNaC website.

This page is designed to give you the information you need to obtain correct travel health advice and ensure that you are fully prepared before you go abroad. For other useful websites on specific country-related advice please refer to our travel advice page.

For ALL travellers

For most travellers, the most common health problems experienced are: an upset stomach or travellers' diarrhoea, sunburn, problems from insect bites, sexually-transmitted infections, or accidents and injuries. The links below give advice on how to avoid these problems:

 

Exacerbation of chronic health problems such as heart disease or diabetes may also occur and having a plan to deal with any chronic medical problems during travel should be discussed with your doctor before your trip.

For travellers to tropical destinations

If you are travelling to more tropical destinations, as well as the issues mentioned above, there may be other infections (preventable by vaccine or tablets) to consider such as:

Frequently asked questions on rabies (HPA)

NaTHNaC advice rabies

Vaccines do not protect against all diseases that may be present in a country. There are other infections that may be transmitted by food and water or by insect bites, and therefore all travellers should ensure they maintain good food and water hygiene practices and take measures to avoid insect bites.

Visit your GP or travel clinic

If you are travelling to a tropical destination, even if you have previously lived there*, you must arrange to see your GP or visit a travel clinic 6-8 weeks before departure to ensure that your health needs are assessed and that you have plenty of time to complete the necessary vaccinations.

*Important note

Immunity to diseases such as malaria does not continue once you have left an endemic area even if you were born there and/or lived there for many years.  It is likely therefore, that you will be at risk of contracting malaria on your return to an endemic area.

Around the world

To keep up to date on issues or events around the world which may affect travellers from the UK, please see


Last reviewed: 9 June 2008