Condition

Ideally, set one up 4 to 6 weeks before your trip. Most vaccines take time to become effective in your body and some vaccines must be given in a series over a period of days or sometimes weeks. Even if you're leaving sooner than 4 weeks, call anyway. You might still benefit from shots or medications and other information about how to protect yourself from illness and injury while traveling.
Find out more at the CDC website.

CDC divides vaccines for travel into three categories: routine, recommended, and required. While your doctor will tell you which ones you should have, it's best to be aware of them ahead of time.
Find out more at the CDC website.

Be sure that you and your family are up to date on your routine vaccinations. These vaccines are necessary for protection from diseases that don't occur in the United States often, but are frequent in other places. If you are not sure which vaccinations are routine, call your local health department check for further information on the CDC website.

Certain vaccines are recommended to protect travelers from illnesses present in other parts of the world and to prevent the importation of infectious diseases across international borders. Which vaccinations you need depends on a number of factors including your destination, whether you will be spending time in rural areas, the season of the year you are traveling, your age, health status, and previous immunizations. Be sure that you are up to date on vaccines such as measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus (DPT), polio, seasonal and 2009 H1N1 flu, and varicella as appropriate for your age. This will protect you and also the people you are going to help. Measles has been eliminated from Haiti, but there is a risk of a measles outbreak if someone who has measles travels to Haiti. Therefore, it is very important that you are protected against measles. If you are protected against measles, this ensures that you will not be able to spread the disease in Haiti. Make sure that you have evidence of measles immunity through one of the following ways:

• Evidence of measles vaccination (2 doses), OR
• Laboratory evidence of immunity or confirmation of disease, OR
• Having been born before January 1, 1957, as evidence of acquired infection.
• If you are not protected against measles through one of these ways, CDC recommends that you get the MMR vaccine before traveling to Haiti.

Tetanus shot is important to have up to date.
Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG): Even if your departure is imminent, one dose of hepatitis A vaccine provides adequate short-term protection for healthy people. For long term protection, a second dose is required 6-18 months after the first dose, depending on the brand of vaccine used.
Find out more at the CDC website.

The vaccine recommendations listed here are based on diseases previously observed in Haiti and the possibility for outbreaks in the aftermath of the earthquake. At this time, vaccines for diseases such cholera and meningitis are not recommended and polio booster vaccination for individuals already fully vaccinated against polio is not recommended. The CDC will continue to monitor the situation in Haiti and will revise vaccine recommendations if the situation warrants. Stay up to day by reviewing the CDC Website.

• Typhoid: There are two vaccines available for typhoid prevention. The injectable are bitten or scratched by an animal. vaccine may be preferable to the oral vaccine in cases where travel is imminent. The oral vaccine requires refrigeration and 4 tablets taken every other day over one week.
• Hepatitis B: If your departure is imminent, the first in a three-dose series (day 0, 1 month and 6 months) may provide some protection. An accelerated dosing schedule may be used (doses at days 0, 7, and at 21-30 days with a booster at 12 months).
• Rabies: If your activities in Haiti will bring you into contact with animals such as dogs, cats, bats, mongooses or other carnivores, you should consider pre-exposure rabies vaccination, which is a three-shot series (days 0, 7, and 21 or 28) given before travel. Even if you receive pre-exposure vaccination, you will still need immediate medical treatment if you get bit by an animal.

The only vaccine required by International Health Regulations is yellow fever vaccination for travel to certain countries in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America. See more at the CDC Website.

Malaria occurs in all parts of Haiti. Ways to prevent malaria include the following:

• Taking a prescription anti-malarial drug
• Using insect repellent and wearing long pants and sleeves to prevent mosquito bites
• Sleeping in air-conditioned or well-screened rooms or using bed nets
• No anti-malarial drug is 100% protective, so it is important to use all three ways to prevent malaria.

Dengue also occurs in Haiti from mosquitoes. Dengue is a disease caused by a virus transmitted to people by the bite of an infected mosquito. Some important information to know about dengue as you travel to Haiti:

• No vaccine or medications are available to prevent dengue
• The best way to reduce your risk of dengue is to protect yourself from mosquito bites
• The mosquitoes that spread dengue usually bite at dusk and dawn but may bite at any time during the day
• Symptoms and signs are high fever, chills, headache and muscle pain. Additionally, a faint rash on the trunk and upper arms may appear on the second to third day of illness
• There are no specific medicines to treat dengue, so treatment is supportive with fever-reducing medicines and fluids
• If you are in the Dominican Republic awaiting entry into Haiti, be aware that dengue is also common there

Find out more at the CDC website.

HIV: Haiti has a high prevalence of HIV infection. To reduce the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, don't have sex with anyone. Healthcare workers should also take the following additional precautions:

• Wear gloves for touching blood and body fluids, mucous membranes, or broken skin and for handling items or surfaces soiled with blood or body fluids. Never touch anyone who is bleeding or covered with bodily fluids without gloves. You never know what serious or deadly illness that person may be infected with.
• Use masks and protective eyewear or face shields to prevent exposure of the mouth, nose, and eyes during procedures that are likely to generate droplets of blood or body fluids.
• Wear gowns or aprons during procedures that are likely to generate splashes of blood or body fluids.

Tuberculosis (TB): Rates of tuberculosis are very high in Haiti.

• If you anticipate giving medical care to or working closely with ill or injured victims or other displaced persons in Haiti, a tuberculin skin test or TST (ideally, a two-step test) is recommended before travel and then 8-10 weeks after return. Your doctor may use a new TB blood test instead of the TST.
• If you have had a negative result on a tuberculin skin test or TB blood test within the past 12 months, you do not need to be tested before going to Haiti.
• If you had a negative TST result less than 12 months before travel or you have never had a TST, your doctor may do a two-step TST.
• If you have had a positive result on a tuberculin skin test or TB blood test in the past, you do not need to be tested again.
• If you are in contact with known TB patients or persons suspected of having TB, use a personal respiratory protective device (e.g., N-95 respirator).
• Regardless of tuberculin skin test or TB blood test results, any person who develops symptoms of TB during or after deployment should see a doctor immediately. Symptoms of TB can include a bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer; pain in the chest; coughing up blood or sputum (phlegm from deep inside the lungs); weakness or fatigue; weight loss; no appetite; chills; fever; and sweating at night.
• Additional information can be found in TB Guidance on the CDC Website Haiti Earthquake Responders page.

Anthrax occurs in Haiti and is primarily transmitted by direct contact with infected animals or with contaminated products from infected animals.

• Cutaneous (skin) anthrax infection usually begins as a small sore that develops into a blister. The blister then develops into a skin ulcer with a black area in the center. The sore, blister, and ulcer do not hurt.
• Gastrointestinal anthrax is characterized by flu-like symptoms including fever and tiredness; sore throat, neck swelling, difficulty swallowing; and nausea, loss of appetite, mild to severe vomiting (may be bloody), mild to severe diarrhea (may be bloody), and abdominal pain.

Leptospirosis infection occurs through exposure to soil and water contaminated with urine from infected animals.
Symptoms include:

• High fever
• Severe headache
• Chills
• Muscle aches
• Vomiting
• May include jaundice (yellow skin and eyes), red eyes, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or a rash.

If the disease is not treated, the patient could develop kidney damage, meningitis, liver failure, and respiratory distress. In rare cases death occurs. If you develop any of these symptoms, see a healthcare provider immediately.

The pre-travel preparation of travelers with immune suppression due to any medical condition, drug, or treatment, must address several categories of concern:

• Is the traveler's underlying health issue stable?
• Do any conditions, medications or treatments contradict the disease measurements needed to be taken?
• Could any disease prevention cause the medical condition to become unstable?
• Are there any conditions at the destination that could cause exacerbation of the underlying health issue?

According to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology:

• The safest time for a pregnant woman to travel is during the second trimester (18-24 weeks), when she usually feels best and is in least danger of spontaneous abortion or premature labor.
• A woman in the third trimester should be advised to defer overseas travel because of concerns about access to medical care in case of problems such as hypertension, phlebitis, or premature labor.
• Pregnant women should be advised to consult with their health-care providers before making any travel decisions.

While many travel health issues for adults also apply to infants and children, they also have special needs that are to be considered when they travel. Don't forget to read about general health information for travel with infants and young children at the CDC Website