TRAVEL ADVICE AND SARS

(Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

If you are planning to travel, the Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization have recommendations for traveling to SARS infected areas at the CDC web page www.cdc.gov/travel/other/acute_resp_syn_multi.htm.

For updated SARS information, including frequently asked questions, visit the CDC’s SARS web page at www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/.

Before traveling:

1. Be sure you are current on all vaccinations. See your health care provider four to six weeks before traveling to get the latest vaccinations and facts you need. For additional health advice for travel abroad, visit www.cdc.gov/travel.

2. Check your health insurance. You may need to get special coverage for medical care if you are abroad. For specific information on travel insurance, visit www.travel.state.gov/medical.html.

3. Check the U.S. Department of Health for health care services in your country of destination. For a list of foreign health care providers and health care facilities, visit www.travel.state.gov/acs.html#medical.

4. It is a good idea to check local health department advisories for your country of destination to learn what areas to avoid www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/ (scroll down for additional international resources).

The best way NOT to get sick is to wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based hand rubs.

If you get sick while traveling in an area affected by SARS:

1. DO NOT continue to travel while sick. Limit your contact with others as much as you can to help prevent the spread of any disease you may have.

2. Call a health care provider immediately and tell them your concerns about possible exposure to SARS.

3. If you do not know of any local health care providers in the country you are visiting, call the U.S. Embassy or Consulate to get the name of a provider.

Returning home from areas affected by SARS

1. If you were sick during your trip or become sick after your trip, call your health care provider immediately. Tell them your symptoms and the countries you visited.

2. If you leave an area affected by SARS, at the departure airport a screener may ask you about your health before you board the plane.

3. If you come back from an area affected by SARS, at the arrival airport you will be given a travel card when you land. See sample of Health Alert Notice at www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/travel_alert.htm.

4. If you are not sick and did not get sick abroad but may have been in touch with someone with SARS, monitor your health for symptoms of SARS for ten days and report any symptoms immediately to your health care provider.