Vaccination before travel - See the list of countries where you can travel only if you are vaccinated preventively for certain diseases!

By Sorin Rusi Last updated 11th May 2021

We are passionate about travel and want to explore as many countries, regions and territories as possible from all over the earth. We have hundreds of flights in our portfolio and as many destinations visited. Most are from Europe, but we have in our portfolio trips to other continents.

Vaccination before the trip

Depending on the destination country, I have always wondered if there are certain health risks and how they can be combated. We are Europeans and we have certain standards of health, cleanliness, food. With the change of the continent, disorders can occur in everyone's body due to culinary experience, due to the climate, due to some bacteria that we do not find in Europe and due to many other external and independent factors. Obviously, each body reacts differently and 99% of everyone is happy and enjoys a holiday and experience.

But there are also countries where we can travel only if we receive a certain drug treatment or a vaccine (or more).

Pre-trip vaccination for polio virus (recommendation)

According to the World Health Organization, there is a danger of the spread of the polio virus. For people traveling to and from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Yemen, and who have not been vaccinated against polio in the last 12 months, vaccination is recommended and is carried out according to the risk in the travel area, the length of stay, the activities carried out.

Vaccination will take place 4 weeks before the trip or, in case of emergency, even before it, will be notified on the international vaccination certificate - WHO format according to IHR 2005 and will accompany the other travel documents.

There is a possibility that at the border point (air, road, naval) in these countries you will be asked for the documents certifying the polio vaccination, especially in case of an extended stay in these countries (more than 4 weeks).

For people traveling to and from Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Iran, Liberia, Malaysia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia , Sudan, South Sudan, Tajikistan and Togo and do not have proof of vaccination in the last year in the international vaccination certificate - WHO format according to IHR 2005, polio vaccination is recommended.

Vaccination before travel for diphtheria (recommendation)

It is recommended that Romanian citizens traveling to Ukraine be vaccinated against diphtheria. For citizens who have not been vaccinated against diphtheria in the last 10 years, the vaccination will be given 4 weeks before the trip or, in case of emergency, even before it.

This recommendation is based on the fact that in Ukraine cases of diphtheria were confirmed in 2019, as mentioned in the information posted on the website of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and on the website of the Ukrainian Government. These reports show that cases of diphtheria have also been identified in the Zakarpattia and Chernivetsika regions with which counties in northern Romania have common borders.

Vaccination before travel for yellow fever (mandatory)

Yellow fever is a viral disease transmitted by mosquito bites, Aedes species or Haemagogus spp. The pathogen is yellow fever virus (VFG) a RNA virus of the genus Flavivirus, related to West Nile virus, St. John's wort virus. Louis and the Japanese encephalitis virus.

The main reservoirs of the virus are non-human primates (monkeys) and infected humans (infected human - mosquito - healthy human). There is no specific antiviral treatment. Supportive treatment in the hospital improves survival rates. But there are methods of prevention. First of all, it is recommended to take all measures against mosquito bites. Secondly, there are areas, territories and countries that require yellow fever vaccination. By definition, vaccination is a preventive action.

WHO and CDC recommend vaccination of all those living or traveling in areas at risk of transmitting GBV

The WHO and the CDC recommend vaccinating all those living or traveling in areas at risk of transmitting VFG in Africa and South America. If you plan to travel to countries like Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guyana, Cameroon, Congo, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, Ivory Coast, Zaire, Kenya, Ethiopia, Colombia, Panama or Brazil is good to get your vaccine.

People infected with GBV develop high levels of viremia and can transmit the mosquito virus shortly before the onset of fever and in the first 3-5 days of illness. Due to the high level of viremia, transmission through blood, transfusion or needles may occur. A case of perinatal transmission of the wild-type VFG has been documented in a woman who developed yellow fever three days before birth. The child tested positive for VFG died of yellow fever on the 12th day after birth.

Remember / Conclusions

vaccination should preferably be carried out 6-8 weeks before leaving and at least 4 weeks before traveling;
you need to be vaccinated especially if you are planning trips to the country, the forest or places where you have direct contact with nature;
According to international standards, vaccination against yellow fever is mandatory. If you do not prove vaccination by a document at the border of certain countries, you may not be allowed to enter;
Vaccination arrangements in different countries change often, so before going abroad you should check the information on mandatory and recommended vaccinations.

In conclusion, depending on the continent and country of destination, check if you need preventive drug protection against diseases such as yellow fever, hepatitis A / B, tetanus and diphtheria, typhoid fever, poliomyelitis, meningococcal infection, rabies. The fact that the journey of those vaccinated against the new coronavirus is now being facilitated should NOT be considered a discriminatory action, but a preventive one, as in all the cases mentioned above.

You can find it on the CNSCBT website tips for travelers!