Eight common travel related illnesses to be aware of

Lately, the news has largely been filled with stories about the swine flu and efforts to contain its spread by travelers. Luckily, swine flu is one of the lesser illness concerns that travelers should have when traveling. Hence, Forbes Traveler recently had an article and a slide show presentation on their website detailing the eight most common types of illnesses that travelers should be aware.

As you can probably guess, traveler's diarrhea remains the most common illness that travelers suffer from. In fact, as many as 40% of all travelers to a developing country will come down with it and it is fairly hard to avoid. However and if its any consolation, travelers from developing countries are almost as likely to have traveler’s diarrhea when they visit a developed country simply due to being exposed to different bacteria in both the food and water.

Nevertheless, the Forbes Traveler slide show shows seven other illnesses (some of which are lesser known than others) that travelers should be aware of. These illnesses include:

1. Norovirus – Often associated with cruise ships, the symptoms include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
2. Chikungunya -  Found in tropical areas and in Indian Ocean destinations in particular (India, Thailand, the Maldives and Sri Lanka), this mosquito borne disease brings terrible joint and muscle pain, fever and rashes.
3. Hepatitis A – This disease is spread through contaminated water and uncooked foods and is the most common form of Hepatitis that travelers are at risk for. Symptoms include general fatigue, headaches, fever, jaundice and sore muscles.
4. Dengue Fever – Another mosquito borne disease, this illness is also know as breakbone fever because it is very painful and accompanied by severe muscle and joint pain. Its on the rise and travelers to the Caribbean, South Pacific, Asia, Latin America or Africa are potentially at risk.
5. Sun Poisoning – Too much sun can lead to bad side effect in the form of incessant itching and burning sensations.
6. Sexually Transmitted Diseases – The same risks and rules at home also apply when traveling abroad.
7. Malaria – This well known mosquito borne disease is still prevalent in many developing countries and tropical regions of the world.

Luckily, there are preventive vaccines and treatments for most of these illnesses and taking simple precautions (such as wearing long sleeves, pants and using insect repellent with DEET) will lower your risk. For further information about what potential illnesses might be a concern in the location of your next business trip, the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contains all of the information that you need to stay healthy.