Travel Health

Tailored advice depending on the places you will visit, the type of accommodation, length of stay and your own health condition.

Before you travel, see your GP at least six weeks before you leave.

Our GPs will advise you about vaccinations that you may need for your trip well before your departure date. The vaccines you need will vary depending on your health and your exact itinerary; for example, where you’re going, how long you’re going for, the season you’re travelling in, what kinds of transportation you’ll be using, where you’re staying and what you’ll be eating. People at higher risk of developing travel related illness include pregnant women, children, and people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

Different countries can have infectious diseases that aren’t present or very common in Australia. Before you travel, it’s important to have the right vaccinations to prevent you from becoming ill while you’re away. Depending on where you’re planning to go, you may need one or more vaccinations before you travel.

Our experience travel doctors have access to global information networks which are continuously monitoring potential international health risks.

Before travelling make sure you are up-to-date with routine vaccinations such as measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), hepatitis B, polio, influenza and pneumococcal. In some cases, you may need booster doses of childhood vaccinations to make sure you still have immunity to these diseases. Some diseases are endemic (always present) in certain areas/countries so the need for vaccinations for these places is routine. Other diseases come and go and this is why the vaccination requirements can vary country to country, season to season, year to year.

You may need to be vaccinated for certain diseases as a condition of entry to some countries so it’s a good idea to check with the embassy or consulate of the countries you’re visiting or travelling through before you go.

Not all illnesses can be prevented through vaccination and you may need to take other measures to prevent illness. Find out whether tap water is safe before your go. If you can catch mosquito borne disease in the area you are travelling to (eg in the tropics) take measures to avoid being bitten. Talk to your doctor about what else you can do to help prevent these diseases.