Travel & Tropical Diseases

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral infection that causes sudden fever and often debilitating joint pain. This Crewe Travel Clinic guide explains where it is a risk, its symptoms, and how travellers can protect themselves.

Dengue fever is a viral infection spread by daytime-biting Aedes mosquitoes across the tropics and subtropics. Most travellers prevent it through diligent mosquito-bite avoidance, with a vaccine available for selected travellers who have had dengue before.

Hepatitis A is a viral infection of the liver spread through contaminated food and water and poor sanitation. Travellers prevent it through good food and water hygiene combined with a highly effective vaccine, which gives long-lasting protection.

Japanese encephalitis is a mosquito-borne viral infection found mainly in rural Asia and the western Pacific. Most infections cause no symptoms, but in rare cases the virus can inflame the brain, leading to serious and sometimes lasting illness. Travellers reduce their risk through mosquito-bite avoidance and, where appropriate, the Ixiaro vaccine available at Crewe Travel Clinic.

Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease caused by Plasmodium parasites, spread to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes in tropical and subtropical regions. There is no vaccine for travellers, so prevention relies on antimalarial tablets and mosquito bite avoidance.

Rabies is a viral infection of the nervous system, spread through the saliva of infected animals, most often by a bite, scratch or lick on broken skin. It is found across Asia, Africa and parts of the Americas, and is almost always fatal once symptoms appear. Travellers reduce their risk by avoiding contact with animals, knowing what to do after any exposure, and, where appropriate, having pre-travel rabies vaccination at Crewe Travel Clinic.

Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, is a parasitic infection caught from contact with fresh water in many tropical and subtropical regions. There is no vaccine, so prevention relies on avoiding contact with potentially contaminated lakes, rivers and ponds.

Typhoid fever is a serious bacterial infection caught from food and water contaminated with the bacterium Salmonella Typhi. It is a risk in areas with poor sanitation, particularly the Indian subcontinent, and travellers prevent it through scrupulous food and water hygiene combined with typhoid vaccination.

Zika virus is a mosquito-borne infection that is usually mild but can cause serious birth defects if a woman is infected during pregnancy. There is no vaccine, so prevention relies on mosquito-bite avoidance, careful pregnancy and travel planning, and avoiding sexual transmission.