Traveler's Guide for International Travel

Preparing for Your Trip

Before embarking on your journey, you should consider whether your health condition allows you to travel to a particular country, taking into account its climate, dietary conditions, cultural activities, the possibility of preventive vaccinations, and the use of medications to prevent infectious diseases.

To do this, you must undergo a thorough medical examination and obtain a doctor's clearance. Patients with chronic illnesses, pregnant women, and those traveling with young children should pay special attention to their doctor's recommendations.

Before your trip, you must receive a briefing from the travel agency organizing the tour and obtain this guide.

If traveling to countries where yellow fever is present, you must get a preventive vaccination and obtain an international certificate of vaccination against yellow fever.

When traveling to malaria-endemic countries, consult your doctor regarding preventive medications and their proper use.

Due to the presence of infectious diseases such as typhoid fever, tetanus, viral hepatitis, and meningococcal infection in some foreign countries, you may choose to receive preventive vaccinations at commercial medical centers or at the Central Vaccination Clinic in Moscow.

Before your trip, prepare and carry a first aid kit, which will help you manage minor ailments, save time searching for medications, and avoid the difficulties of communicating in a foreign language.

First Aid Kit: painkillers; cardiovascular medications; antacids and digestive remedies; cholagogues; anti-motion sickness medication; insect bite remedies; bandaging materials (bandages, cotton balls); waterproof adhesive plasters; disposable syringes; barrier contraceptives; contact lens solution, if applicable; eye drops; sunscreen and after-sun skin care creams.

During Your Stay Abroad

While traveling, you must observe certain rules and restrictions regarding accommodation, food, and leisure activities.

General Guidelines

People from temperate climates require an acclimatization period when visiting tropical and subtropical regions.

To prevent sunstroke and heatstroke, wear lightweight natural-fabric clothing and a summer hat, apply sunscreen to exposed skin, increase fluid intake, and limit alcohol consumption.

During your vacation, exercise particular caution when coming into contact with animals, as they are sources of many infectious and parasitic diseases. Do not touch cats, dogs, or other animals! This is dangerous in virtually all countries.

If you are bitten, scratched, or licked by an animal, thoroughly wash the affected area with soap and water. Seek medical attention immediately to determine whether vaccinations against rabies and tetanus are necessary.

Additional dangers include bites from venomous snakes, insects (scorpions, black widows, tarantulas, centipedes), and tropical marine life (venomous jellyfish, leeches, fish), which can cause serious harm to your health.

Most blood-sucking insects dangerous to humans (fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, sandflies, horseflies, gnats, and flies) are carriers of tropical infectious and parasitic diseases.

To prevent complications during outdoor activities, avoid contact with animals, reptiles, and insects; wear long-sleeved clothing, trousers, and shoes with thick socks or gaiters; use insect repellent. Always carry a flashlight in the evenings and at night, even in cities.

Accommodation Rules

You should only stay in hotels with centralized water supply and sewage systems. If mosquitoes, fleas, or rodents are found in your room, notify management immediately so that urgent measures can be taken to eliminate them. In areas with flying insects, request window and door screens, bed nets, and electric insect repellent devices.

Food and Drink

Meals should only be consumed at established dining facilities that use guaranteed-quality, industrially produced food products. Only bottled or boiled water, and industrially produced beverages and juices of guaranteed quality, should be used for drinking.

Only boiled or bottled water should be used to wash fruits and vegetables.

It is prohibited to purchase ice for cooling drinks from street vendors, as well as to consume traditional national cuisine dishes, expired products, food that has not undergone guaranteed technological processing, or products purchased from street vendors.

Leisure Activities

The organization and conduct of excursions and other activities (hunting, fishing) in locations not designated in the official program are prohibited.

Swimming is permitted only in pools and designated water bodies. It is prohibited to lie on the beach without a mat or to walk on the ground barefoot.

It is not recommended to purchase fur or leather goods, or animals and birds, from private traders. Strictly observe personal hygiene rules.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure!

When traveling abroad, you should be aware that in some countries there is a real risk of contracting infectious and parasitic diseases, which are characterized by severe clinical progression, damage to vital organs and body systems, and may be fatal.

CHOLERA.

Cholera is a particularly dangerous acute infectious disease characterized by severe dehydration, which, without timely treatment, can be fatal.

The incubation period — from the moment of infection to the appearance of the first clinical symptoms — ranges from a few hours to 5 days.

Cholera pathogens enter the human body through the consumption of contaminated food and water. Foods that are not subjected to heat treatment are especially dangerous.

Infection can also occur while swimming in random bodies of water.

The characteristic signs of cholera are repeated loose stools and vomiting, leading to dehydration. At the first signs of illness, seek medical attention immediately.

DANGEROUS VIRAL HEMORRHAGIC FEVERS.

When traveling to countries in Africa and South America, you may be at risk of contracting dangerous viral hemorrhagic fevers, including yellow fever, Ebola, Lassa, and Marburg.

YELLOW FEVER.

Yellow fever is transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and can be contracted both in natural environments and in urban areas.

The incubation period — from infection to the first signs of illness — is 3 to 6 days.

The disease is characterized by high fever, hemorrhagic rash, kidney and liver damage, with the development of jaundice and acute renal failure. The course of the disease is extremely severe and in most cases fatal.

When traveling to South American and African countries where preventive vaccination is mandatory — the only means of preventing this dangerous disease — you must receive a single dose vaccination no later than 10 days before departure. Immunity lasts for 10 years, after which a booster vaccination is required.

Travel to affected countries without an international certificate of vaccination against yellow fever is prohibited.

EBOLA, LASSA, AND MARBURG FEVERS.

These are natural focal infectious diseases whose sources include animals, rodents, and infected individuals. These fevers are severe viral illnesses with a nearly identical clinical picture, characterized by high fever, hemorrhagic rash, nosebleeds, bleeding gums, blood in stool and vomit, headaches, general weakness, and chest and abdominal pain.

The incubation period for all these fevers is 3 to 17 days.

PARASITIC DISEASES

Tropical and subtropical countries have a wide prevalence of dangerous parasitic diseases. Infection can occur through fruits, vegetables, greens, meat, fish, and seafood. The larvae of certain parasitic worms can also be contracted through contact with soil and swimming in freshwater bodies through intact skin, and through the bites of blood-sucking insects — causing parasitic diseases whose pathogens live in the lymphatic system, body cavity walls, and subcutaneous tissue.

Many of these diseases are characterized by a long incubation period and a severe chronic course.

MALARIA

A serious parasitic disease widely spread in countries with tropical and subtropical climates.

Infection occurs through the bites of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. There are 4 forms of malaria, the most severe of which — tropical malaria — is prevalent in African countries.

The incubation period is 7 days to 1 month for tropical malaria and up to 3 years for other forms.

Symptoms: fever, chills, heavy sweating, headache, and weakness. Tropical malaria can be fatal within a very short time from disease onset if not treated promptly.

For prevention, antimalarial medication must be taken regularly, beginning 1 week before departure, continuing throughout the stay, and for 1 month after returning home.

PLAGUE

Plague is a natural focal infection that affects both humans and animals; it is transmitted by fleas that parasitize rodents and other animals.

Infection occurs through bites from infected fleas, contact with sick animals and rodents, or through airborne droplets when in contact with a patient suffering from pneumonic plague.

The time from entry of the plague pathogen into the human body to the appearance of the first symptoms ranges from several hours to 6 days.

The disease begins with high fever, severe chills, headache, swollen lymph nodes, and bloody cough.

At the first signs of illness, seek medical attention immediately.

AVIAN INFLUENZA (BIRD FLU)

Avian influenza is an acute infectious disease caused by a virus.

Human infection occurs through close contact with infected or dead domestic and wild birds. In some cases, infection can occur through consumption of meat or eggs from sick birds that have not been sufficiently heat-treated.

The secretions of infected birds are dangerous: contaminating plants, air, and water, they can subsequently infect humans through drinking water, while swimming, through airborne droplets, airborne dust, and contact with unwashed hands.

The incubation period ranges from several hours to 5 days.

The disease begins abruptly with chills, fever rising to 38°C and above, muscle and headaches, and sore throat. Watery diarrhea and repeated vomiting are possible. The condition deteriorates rapidly. After 2–3 days, a wet cough often appears with traces of blood, along with shortness of breath, which may progress to respiratory difficulty. Liver, kidney, and brain damage are possible.

At the first signs of illness, seek medical attention immediately for diagnosis and prompt treatment, as delayed treatment inevitably leads to complications.

Preventive measures. Avoid contact with domestic and wild birds at farms, markets, and areas where birds congregate near open water. Domestic poultry should only be kept within private household premises.

SEXUAL CONTACTS

Casual sexual contacts carry the risk of contracting dangerous infections such as AIDS, syphilis, viral hepatitis B, and other sexually transmitted diseases. These illnesses can seriously affect not only your life but also the lives of your family.

To prevent these diseases, always carry and use individual protection. Avoid casual sexual encounters!

HIV INFECTION.

A chronic, slow-progressing viral infection with a latency period ranging from several months to several years.

The main routes of transmission are: sexual contact; parenteral (through blood-contaminated medical instruments and syringes used for drug injection); and through donor organs and tissues from HIV-infected individuals. This is particularly important to keep in mind when traveling to countries where blood donation control systems are not yet established and where there is a risk of non-sterile medical instruments being used, especially in dentistry.

Once infected with HIV, a person becomes a carrier and, while remaining practically healthy for a long period, can infect their sexual partners.

The final stage of HIV infection is AIDS — Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome — characterized by progressive destruction of the human immune system, which cannot be treated and leads to death within approximately one year.

To prevent HIV infection, ensure you have a supply of disposable syringes and condoms, and visit a dentist before your trip.

Returning From Your Trip

Upon returning from abroad, you may be asked to fill out a "Traveler's Arrival Form" on the plane, in which you must provide your exact permanent or temporary residential address, as well as your work and home telephone numbers. This information is necessary for the timely organization of anti-epidemic measures in the event of a quarantine infection outbreak.

When crossing the border, you must cooperate with personal inspection and the inspection of your belongings, especially items made of fur and leather, as well as any animals or birds.

When bringing animals or birds into the country, you must have an accompanying veterinary certificate obtained from the State Veterinary Service of the country where the animal was acquired.

If you develop fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bloody cough, or a rash on the skin or mucous membranes, seek medical attention immediately for examination and testing for infectious and parasitic diseases.

Remember that if you have visited a malaria-endemic country, any rise in body temperature within 3 years of your return should prompt you to seek medical care immediately and inform your doctor that you have been to the "tropics."