Updated CDC Travel Health Book Released

CDC's Yellow Book provides useful tips on healthy international travel

CDC's 2012 edition Yellow Book, the definitive health guide for international travel, will feature new sections on traveling to mass gatherings, preparing for study abroad, military deployments, and six new popular travel itineraries.

Nicknamed for its yellow cover, the health guide is officially titled CDC Health Information for International Travel. The resource, which is updated once every two years, provides travel health recommendations and other features that help international travelers prepare for trips and stay healthy while abroad, such as when to get the recommended vaccines and medicines before departure, and symptoms to watch for during travel and when you return.

"International travelers do a lot to get ready for a trip—packing, planning activities, and making sure their passports are in order—but too few plan ahead for their health while traveling," said Dr. Gary Brunette, chief of CDC's Travelers' Health Branch. "CDC hopes clinicians and travelers will use the Yellow Book to learn about steps to take before, during and after travel to have a healthy and safe trip."

Following the success of a 2010 addition highlighting popular international destination and itineraries, CDC expanded the publication to 13 popular destinations. New itineraries in the 2012 edition include the Caribbean, Egypt and Nile River cruises, Guatemala and Belize, Hajj Pilgrimage (Saudi Arabia), Mexico, and South Africa. CDC asked travel health experts with particular knowledge of these areas to write the sections to give readers a sense of what it's really like to be there and what health risks exist at each location.

The 2012 edition also includes these new features:

Updated maps on the distribution of dengue, a mosquito-borne disease usually found in the tropics, which has been increasing internationally and was seen in the southern Florida in 2009 for the first time in 75 years.

What to expect if you're traveling during an international disease outbreak

Larger and more detailed maps for yellow fever and malaria, which can sometimes affect only certain parts of countries.

Tips for travel to mass gatherings such as the Hajj pilgrimage and sporting events like Olympics or World Cup

Prevention of traveler's diarrhea – it's not only what you eat and drink, but also other factors including how your food is prepared and where you eat.

Popular features from previous Yellow Book editions are also included in the new edition, including sections on jet lag, cruise ship travel, traveling with disabilities, traveling with infants and children, international adoptions, and immigrants returning to their native countries to visit friends and relatives.

The Yellow Book is published in hard copy by Oxford University Press, and is now available at bookstores, through Internet book sellers, or by contacting Oxford. It will also available as an e-book, a digitally downloadable book for e-readers and iPads, online. The content will also be available at CDC's Traveler's Health website, www.cdc.gov/travel. The website lets travelers search by destination and find information about basic travel health preparations and what to do if sick or injured while traveling. It is updated as travel health threats emerge and new information becomes available.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES