International travel and health: module 4: vaccine-preventable diseases and vaccines

Depending on the health profile of the traveller, the type of travel to be undertaken, and the place of transit and destination, travellers may face various health risks during travel. The International travel and health collection is an update of International travel and health (2012) and serves as an entry point for other World Health Organization publications that provide further information. Its primary target audience is travel health practitioners and travel health professionals, who provide health advice to travellers on appropriate precautions to be taken to minimize any travel-related health risks in unfamiliar environments, before, during and after travel. The guidance may also be of interest to health authorities who intend to support travel health professionals in their jurisdiction or develop health advice for their population. It may also be of interest to travellers who wish to obtain such information for themselves as well as those working in the travel industry, such as agents and organizers, airlines and shipping companies.

Module 4 provides a summary of vaccine data (including the cause, transmission and description of the disease), as well as the geographical distribution of the diseases, risk for travellers and general precautions. Note that this document lists vaccines for which WHO has vaccine position statements.