• Home
• Programs
• Application Process
• Academics & Advising
• Scholarships & Finances
• Pre-Departure Orientation
• Health & Safety Resources
  • Avian Flu
  • Spring Break Travel: Safety Tips
  • Swine Flu
  • Travel Warnings
• Returning Students
• FAQs
• Contact Us
• News & Events

Avian Flu & International Travel

Before any international travel to an area affected by H5N1 avian influenza

• The CDC's Travelers' Health website (http://www.cdc.gov/travel) has information about disease risks and health recommendations for specific regions. For other information, see CDC's Avian Influenza website: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/index.htm.
• Be sure you are up to date with all routine vaccinations. See your health-care provider 4 to 6 weeks before travel to get additional vaccination medications or information you may need.
• Assemble a travel health kit containing basic first aid and medical supplies, including a thermometer and alcohol-based hand gel for hand hygiene.
• Identify in-country health-care resources in advance of your trip.
• Check your health insurance plan or get additional insurance that covers medical evacuation in case you become sick. Information about medical evacuation services is provided on the U.S. Department of State web page Medical Information for Americans Traveling Abroad, at http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/health/health_1185.html.

During travel to an affected area

• Avoid all direct contact with poultry, including touching well-appearing, sick, or dead chickens and ducks. Avoid places such as poultry farms and bird markets where live poultry are raised or kept, and avoid handling surfaces contaminated with poultry feces or secretions.
• As with other infectious illnesses, one of the most important preventive practices is careful and frequent handwashing. Cleaning your hands often with soap and water removes potentially infectious material from your skin and helps prevent disease transmission. Waterless alcohol-based hand gels may be used when soap is not available and hands are not visibly soiled.
• All foods from poultry, including eggs and poultry blood should be cooked thoroughly. Egg yolks should not be runny or liquid. Heat destroys influenza viruses; cooking temperature for poultry meat should be 180F.
• If you become sick with fever accompanied by a cough, sore throat, or have difficulty breathing or if you develop any illness that requires prompt medical attention, a U.S.consular officer can help you in locate medical services and inform your family or friends. Inform your health-care provider of any possible exposures to avian influenza. Notify your emergency contacts in the US. Defer further travel until you are free of symptoms, unless traveling locally for medical care.

Note: Some countries have instituted health monitoring techniques, such as temperature screenings, at ports of entry of travelers arriving from areas affected by avian influenza.

After your return

• Monitor your health for 10 days.
• If you become ill with a fever plus a cough, sore throat, or trouble breathing during this 10-day period, consult a health-care provider. Before you visit a health-care setting, tell the provider the following: 1) your symptoms, 2) where you traveled, and 3) if you have had direct contact with poultry or close contact with a severely ill person. This way, he or she can be aware that you have traveled to an area reporting avian influenza.
• Do not travel while ill, unless you are seeking medical care. Limiting contact with others as much as possible can help prevent the spread of an infectious illness.