Travel health advice

Many residents travel abroad annually for holidays, business, or visiting family and friends. To ensure safety and public health, access to reliable advice is crucial to protect travellers and reduce risks of imported infections. 

Key resources and travel advice for the public:

Key resources and travel advice for healthcare professionals:

For healthcare professionals - The following websites provide travel health advice, including information on travel vaccines, for health professionals advising the public about avoiding illness and staying healthy when travelling abroad.

  • National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) - comprehensive travel health and vaccine guidance.
  • TRAVAX  - tailored advice for healthcare professionals.

Returning worker support - advice for people returning to the UK after working in virus affected areas:

 

Virus-specific travel advice:

Ebola

Advice to travellers

For the latest information, please see Public Health England's updates the UK government travel advice to the main countries affected.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all but essential travel to

  • the city of Goma in North Kivu province
  • the city of Bukavu in South Kivu province
  • the districts of N’djili and Kimbanseke in Kinshasa, both of which are south of the main access road to N’djili airport (located in Nsele district).

The likelihood of contracting EVD is extremely low unless you have been exposed directly to blood or body fluids of symptomatic people or animals, or infected objects. Therefore the risk to the public in Northern Ireland is low.

If you have travelled and stayed in the areas where EVD cases have been recently reported, and you become ill within 21 days of returning home (fever, headache, achiness, sore throat, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pain, rash, or red eyes), seek medical attention as soon as possible and mention your travel history.

The risk of infection for travellers visiting the affected countries is considered low. However, the Public Health Agency (PHA) advises that travellers to DRC need to be familiar with how EVD virus is transmitted. Travellers are advised to avoid all types of contact which could put them at risk of contracting the virus. 

Ebola disease (WHO)

Ebola virus disease (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control)

Legionnaire's disease

Increase in cases of Legionnaire's disease in Palmanova, Mallorca

Public Health England (PHE) has seen a recent increase in the number of cases of Legionnaire’s disease in people who have travelled to a town  called Palmanova, in Mallorca, Spain.

For information on this please click on the following link -www.gov.uk/government/news/increase-in-cases-of-legionnaires-disease-in-palmanova-mallorca 

MERS Co-V

The Public Health Agency is reminding Hajj pilgrims to be aware of the risk of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the Middle East. 

For more information visit Public Health Englands advice available at:

www.gov.uk/government/news/hajj-pilgrims-urged-to-be-aware-of-mers-cov-advice

https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/factsheet/19/hajj-and-umrah

Mpox

NaTHNaC - Mpox outbreak in Africa: clade I mpox virus infection (travelhealthpro.org.uk)

 

 

Wuhan novel coronavirus

Public Health England (PHE) is aware of a reported outbreak of a novel coronavirus in Wuhan City, China, and has offered advice to travellers to the area regarding this. 

Travel advice on COVID-19 from World Health Organisation

Zika virus

The Zika virus is an infection transmitted by Aedes mosquitos. The infection often occurs without symptoms but it can cause a mild illness which can include fever, headache, rash, joint and muscle pain, and conjunctivitis. 

There is no vaccine or drug treatment and patients affected are advised to rest and drink plenty of fluids.

Advice for pregnant women:
The Public Health Agency is advising pregnant women to postpone non-essential travel to areas with active Zika transmission until after pregnancy.

A link to exposure to the Zika virus during pregnancy and microcephaly (a birth defect where a baby's head is smaller than expected when compared to babies of the same sex and age) and other congenital malformations has been identified.

Advice for couples and male travelers: 
It is recommended that couples should follow guidance on prevention of sexual transmission of Zika and avoid becoming pregnant while travelling to a Zika-affected area and for up to six months on return.

As a precaution male travellers, regardless of having symptoms or not, should use condoms and other barrier methods during sex for six months after leaving an affected area.

Further advice on preventing sexual transmission of Zika can be found Zika virus - NHS.

Key resources:

A Q&A on the Zika virus can be found here on the NHS Choices website.

All travellers to the affected countries should ensure they seek travel health advice from their GP or a travel clinic well in advance of their trip and consult the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) website for up to date information on current outbreaks and country information.

A leaflet with advice on reducing the risk of mosquito-borne infections such as dengue, chikungunya, West Nile, malaria, yellow fever and Zika, can be found Mosquito bite avoidance: advice for travellers - GOV.UK.

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