Immunizations may be required, or recommended, for travel to certain foreign countries. Most visitors to Europe, Japan, Australia, and other developed countries will not need any inoculations. However, if an immunization is required for your destination, it must be recorded on a yellow "International Certificate of Vaccination" which you will present upon entering the country.

The most commonly required/recommended immunizations for international travel are for typhoid, yellow fever, and hepatitis. It's relatively easy to find out if you need any inoculations (or pills for malaria) by contacting local and state health departments, travel clinics, your travel agent, or your doctor.

In many cases your private physician (given the proper amount of time) can administer any necessary immunizations. There are also a growing number of travel clinics (some associated with hospitals and university medical centers) around the country that have a ready supply of travel vaccines. Don't wait until the last minute to get shots, since some of them require two doses with a certain amount of time between doses.

Regardless of where you are traveling, it is always a good idea to make sure that your "routine" immunizations are up to date: measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, polio, and tetanus. It is estimated that a high percentage of adults have not received routine immunizations or have not maintained their routine immunization status since their school years.

It's always best to consult with your family doctor about immunizations. For instance, some vaccines are not advisable for pregnant women, very young children, or people with altered immune systems (e.g. people with AIDS). Let your doctor know your exact itinerary and you can work together to determine what inoculations are necessary.

KiyaSama is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/

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