Cholera travel vaccination advice updated

on the 26 February 2014

The list of countries for which cholera vaccination may be advisable for high-risk travellers has been updated by the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC).

Travellers should practise strict food and water hygiene to minimise the risk of cholera. | SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Travel to the following countries may pose a risk of cholera infection. Immunisation can be considered for humanitarian aid workers and travellers with remote itineraries in areas of cholera outbreaks, who have limited access to safe water and medical care.

Africa: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Indonesia (Bali and Borneo), Laos, Malaysia, Malaysia (Borneo), Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Tajikistan, Thailand and Vietnam

Middle East: Iran, Iraq and Yemen

The Americas: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Mexico

Cholera vaccination is no longer recommended for travel to China, Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, Tibet or Ukraine.

Cholera is considered a potential risk to travellers if a country has reported ≥100 cases to the WHO in at least 3 out of 5 years (2008 to 2012 inclusive), or an outbreak of ≥1000 cases to the WHO in at least one year (2008 to 2012 inclusive).

The updated country-specific recommendations will appear in the June quarterly print issue of MIMS. Full travel vaccination and malaria prophylaxis guidance by country can be found on the MIMS travel pages.

Patient factsheet on cholera

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