Preparing for Travel to Haiti 2010
Some of our clients are traveling to Haiti as part of earthquake relief efforts.
One of our sources of worldwide travel health and disease information, Shoreland Inc., has published a brochure called Preparing Responders: Haiti 2010 (click to download).
The brochure helps prepare Haiti-bound responders assess their suitability to face the challenges presented by the earthquake's aftermath, maximize health and safety, minimize risk, and ensure that their presence will be an asset and not a further burden on the country's resources. It emphasizes preventive health issues such as pre-travel assessment, routine and recommended immunizations, malaria prevention, food- and water-borne diseases, injury prevention, wound care, and the need to carry sufficient first aid and medical supplies to self-treat if necessary.
Key Points:
- Haiti will be hot and humid and sun exposure will be significant
- Poor infrastructure for water and sanitation
- almost non-existent in many locations
- Food/water-borne illnesses will be prevalent
- food/water precautions are critical
- Power lines are down
- Availability of medical support is limited
- even for responders
- carry a personal medical kit
- Immunizations are important
- especially tetanus, typhoid, hepatitis A & B, seasonal & H1N1 swine flu, measles
- Mosquito-borne illnesses are a risk (dengue, malaria)
- use insect precautions
- take chloroquine prophylaxis for malari
- Rabies is always present in Haiti
- Snakes will be displaced into uncommon areas
- increased risk of encounters
- Violent crime should be expected
- even against relief workers
- Haiti has amongst the world's higher TB rates
- importance of pre/post-travel TB skin testing
- HIV is prevalent