# 10.318
Every two years the CDC updates and publishes their `Yellow Book’, a reference for those who advise international travelers about health risks. As international travel increases, so do the chances that travelers will contract and transport diseases from one area of the globe to another.
Which means that doctors just about anywhere in the world are faced with advising patients on how to avoid (or worse, must diagnose when they return) rarely seen or unusual diseases like Chikungunya, Dengue, and Cholera.
While written primarily for Health Care providers, the Yellow Book is a tremendously valuable resource for all, and I confess I use it often as a reference for this blog. You find it chock full of maps, charts, and advice and information on everything from Amebiasis to Yersiniosis, and scores of infectious diseases in-between.
For those who will refer to it often, a hard copy is available from the Oxford University Press. You can also order a copy from online booksellers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. An Android and iOS version will be released for purchase in September.
But for casual users, or those on a budget, the text of the the 2012 Yellow Book is now available online at the CDC’s:
The 2016 edition includes the following new features:
- Yellow fever vaccination recommendation maps for 10 countries
- 15 country-specific malaria risk maps
- Comprehensive advice for health care workers traveling to provide care overseas
- Discussion of complementary and alternative health approaches to travel medicine
- Commentary on the cost analysis of travel health care
Popular features from previous editions remain in the 2016 edition, including information on cruise ship travel, food and water precautions, and health advice for international adoptions.
While the lists of exotic diseases may appear formidable, if you empower yourself with knowledge before you go - and take the proper precautions while you are away - the odds of contracting a serious illness while traveling are small.
So. after you’ve perused the the travel brochure – and well before you depart – it would be worth checking out the latest incarnation of the Yellow Book to see what types of diseases threats you might encounter, and what steps you should take before and during your trip to avoid them.
Highly Recommended.
