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Health Information for Travelers to Mexico and
Central America Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama
Food and waterborne diseases are the number one cause of illness in travelers. Travelers’ diarrhea can be caused
by viruses, bacteria, or parasites, which are found throughout the region and can contaminate food or water. Infections
may cause diarrhea and vomiting (E. coli, Salmonella, cholera, and parasites), fever (typhoid fever and toxoplasmosis),
or liver damage (hepatitis). Make sure your food and drinking water are safe.
Malaria is a preventable infection that can be fatal if left untreated. Prevent infection by taking prescription
antimalarial drugs and protecting yourself against mosquito bites (see below). Malaria risk exists in some parts
of Mexico and Central America. Travelers to malaria-risk areas in Mexico and Central America, including the Bocas
del Toro Province of Panama, should take chloroquine as their antimalarial drug. Travelers to Panama in the Darien
and San Blas provinces (including the San Blas Islands) should take one of the following antimalarial drugs: mefloquine
(Lariam®), doxycycline, or Malarone™.
A yellow fever vaccination certificate may be required for entry into certain of these countries if you are traveling
from a country in tropical South America or sub-Saharan Africa.
Dengue, filariasis, leishmaniasis, onchocerciasis, and American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease) are diseases carried
by insects that also occur in this region. Protecting yourself against insect bites will help to prevent these
diseases.
Because motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of injury among travelers, walk and drive defensively. Avoid
nighttime travel if possible and always use seat belts.
CDC recommends the following vaccines (as appropriate for age):
See your doctor at least 4–6 weeks before your trip to allow time for immunizations to take effect.
- Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG).
- Hepatitis B, if you might be exposed to blood
(for example, health-care workers), have sexual contact with the local population, stay longer than 6 months, or
be exposed through medical treatment.
- Rabies, if you might be exposed to wild or domestic
animals through your work or recreation.
- Typhoid, particularly if you are visiting developing
countries in this region.
- Yellow fever for travelers to Panama who will
be going outside urban areas.
- As needed, booster doses for tetanus-diphtheria
and measles. Hepatitis B vaccine is now recommended for all infants and for children ages 11–12 years who did not
receive the series as infants.
All travelers should take the following
precautions, no matter the destination:
- Wash hands often with soap and water.
- Because motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause
of injury among travelers, walk and drive defensively. Avoid travel at night if possible and always use seat belts.
- Always use latex condoms to reduce the risk of
HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
- Don’t eat or drink dairy products unless you know
they have been pasteurized.
- Don’t share needles with anyone.
- Eat only thoroughly cooked food or fruits and
vegetables you have peeled yourself. Remember: boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it. Never eat undercooked ground
beef and poultry, raw eggs, and unpasteurized dairy products. Raw shellfish is particularly dangerous to persons
who have liver disease or compromised immune systems.
Travelers visiting undeveloped areas should
take the following precautions:
To stay healthy, do...
- Drink only bottled or boiled water, or carbonated
(bubbly) drinks in cans or bottles. Avoid tap water, fountain drinks, and ice cubes. If this is not possible, make
water safer by BOTH filtering through an “absolute 1-micron or less” filter AND adding iodine tablets to the filtered
water. “Absolute 1-micron filters” are found in camping/outdoor supply stores.
- If you visit an area where there is risk for malaria,
take your malaria prevention medication before, during, and after travel, as directed. (See your doctor for a prescription.)
- Protect yourself from insects by remaining in
well-screened areas, using repellents (applied sparingly at 4-hour intervals), and wearing long-sleeved shirts
and long pants from dusk through dawn.
- To prevent fungal and parasitic infections, keep
feet clean and dry, and do not go barefoot. To avoid getting sick...
- Don’t eat food purchased from street vendors.
- Don’t drink beverages with ice.
- Don’t share needles with anyone.
- Don’t handle animals (especially monkeys, dogs,
and cats), to avoid bites and serious diseases (including rabies and plague).
What you need to bring with you:
- Long-sleeved shirt and long pants to wear while
outside whenever possible, to prevent illnesses carried by insects.
- Insect repellent containing DEET (diethylmethyltoluamide),
in 30%–35% strength for adults and 6%–10% for children, as well as a bed net impregnated with the insecticide permethrin.
(Bed nets can be purchased in camping or military supply stores.)
- Over-the-counter antidiarrheal medicine to take
if you have diarrhea.
- Iodine tablets and portable water filters to purify
water if bottled water is not available.
- Sunblock, sunglasses, hat.
- Prescription medications: make sure you have enough
to last during your trip, as well as a copy of the prescription(s).
After you return home:
If you have visited a malaria-risk area, continue taking your antimalarial drug for 4 weeks (Lariam®, doxycycline)
or seven days (Malarone™) after leaving the risk area. Travelers who become ill with a fever or flu-like illness
while traveling in a malaria-risk area and up to one year after returning home should seek prompt medical attention
and should tell the physician their travel history.
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