Which countries require vaccinations and for what diseases

Going to an exotic country? It’s great that you’ve already decided on what to pack, found out about visas, booked a hotel, and planned your itinerary. But did you remember to get vaccinated? Yes, there are countries that do not allow unvaccinated tourists. For their own safety.

Some people think that vaccinations are only mandatory in third-world countries with little medicine and widespread unsanitary conditions. But that’s not entirely true. Besides Africa and Asia, vaccinations are necessary before traveling even to Latin America. But let’s take it one step at a time.

Yellow Fever

This disease is unpleasant and often fatal. The yellow fever virus is transmitted through mosquito bites. It starts like a cold, but can end very sadly.

To feel safe while strolling through an unfamiliar city or beach and not flinching at every insect, you need to get vaccinated. The vaccine starts working on the 10th day, and after vaccination, you will be issued a special certificate in several languages. So, plan your vaccination time correctly — you won’t be able to enter the country earlier than the 10th day — when the vaccine starts to take effect. Before that day, you won’t be allowed across the border.

For your information: “The yellow fever vaccine is a finely ground tissue of specific pathogen-free (SPF) chicken embryos infected with attenuated yellow fever virus strain “17D”, purified by centrifugation and lyophilized.”

Who can travel without vaccination:

• children under 9 months of age (or under 6 months during outbreaks when the risk of disease outweighs the risk of adverse vaccine reactions);

• pregnant women (in normal times, except during outbreaks);

• people with severe egg protein allergy;

• people with severe immunodeficiency.

Countries where vaccination is mandatory:

• Africa (Angola, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Cameroon, Togo, Liberia, Ghana, Congo, Mali, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Niger, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic),

• Latin America (French Guiana).

Countries where vaccination is recommended:

• Africa,

• India,

• Thailand,

• Malaysia,

• Indonesia,

• several Latin American countries (Brazil, Tobago, Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama, Trinidad, Guyana, Ecuador, Suriname).

Typhoid Fever

This is important for those who love good food or various culinary experiments. Typhoid fever is contracted precisely from food: intestinal infection lurks in milk, meat, and even water! Unfortunately, there are also fatal outcomes. To avoid playing roulette and not fearing any food, get vaccinated. Immunity to typhoid fever appears one to two weeks after the injection.

Countries where vaccination is mandatory:

• all of Africa,

• Asia (except Japan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia),

• Latin America,

• Oceania (except New Zealand).

Rabies

Rabies can be contracted not only from the bite of a wild or domestic dog. Monkeys and bats also carry the virus. Infection can occur even if the saliva of an infected animal accidentally gets onto the mucous membrane or an open wound of a healthy person.

If you are going to a country where such animals are found outside zoos and reserves, you must get vaccinated. Unlike yellow fever and typhoid fever, the rabies vaccine is given a month or more before the trip. It is after this time that immunity begins to develop, which will protect you from the virus for 3 years.

Countries where vaccination is mandatory:

• Asia (except Japan and island nations),

• India,

• Latin America.

Hepatitis A

The most common infection in nearby and not-so-nearby resorts. If rabies or yellow fever can somehow be avoided (simply by not flying to at-risk countries), Hepatitis A lurks even in popular European resorts.

The virus can be caught from dirty hands, fruits and vegetables, water, and raw seafood. Even if you wash your hands, it’s not a guarantee that the food won’t be contaminated. The correct solution is to get vaccinated 2–3 weeks before your trip. It will provide immunity for one to five years (depending on the vaccine type). If you want to forget about this vaccination for the next 10 years, get another one a year after the first.

Countries where vaccination is recommended:

• the entire Balkan Peninsula,

• Spain,

• Portugal,

• Poland,

• all of Africa,

• Asia,

• North America (Northern Canada, Greenland, Alaska),

• Latin America,

• Oceania (except New Zealand).

Tick-borne Encephalitis

A disease that can be contracted from a tick bite or by consuming raw cow’s or goat’s milk. If you are going to the mountains or wandering through forests, then it is highly recommended.

Countries where vaccination is recommended:

• Czech Republic,

• Austria.

Don’t forget about vaccinations, especially if an exotic country with potentially rabid monkeys and poor hygiene awaits you. Not all diseases are curable, and some leave terrible consequences in the form of a lifelong strict diet, at a minimum. As they say, it’s better to get an extra shot.

Where to get adult vaccinations

These are not ordinary measles or flu vaccinations that can be done at a polyclinic. Vaccinations for the infectious diseases listed above are done in specialized clinics.

There you will also be issued a certificate; don’t forget to take it with you — if a certain vaccination is mandatory in a country, you won’t be allowed in without the certificate. Otherwise, how will you prove that you had it?

It’s best to refer to the website of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It details which vaccinations are necessary for which countries, and most importantly — for whom.

Stay healthy!