Vaccination for safe travel to India

Abstract

Worldwide more than 900 million international journeys are undertaken every year. India is one of the favorite tourist destinations around the world. International travel exposes travelers to a range of health risks. Traveling to India possess a threat to travelers with waterborne diseases like bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever; vector borne diseases like dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria; animal contact disease like rabies. Furthermore diseases spreading through behavior aspects cannot be ruled out hence posing a risk for hepatitis B, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C as well. Hence, before travel the travelers are advised about the risk of disease in the country or countries they plan to visit and the steps to be taken to prevent illness. Vaccination offers the possibility of avoiding a number of infectious diseases that may be countered abroad. There is no single vaccination schedule that fits all travelers. Each schedule must be individualized according to the traveler's previous immunizations, countries to be visited, type and duration of travel, and the amount of time available before departure.

Keywords: India; travel; travelers; vaccination; vaccine.