The health of host communities: missing from printed travel health advice

Travelers are becoming increasingly used to the need to seek appropriate health advice before embarking on trips, particularly to developing countries. Travel health advice is given in various ways and through various media.1 Printed material often accompanies a travel health professional's oral explanations. Leaflets, booklets, brochures and other printed material have been used for a long time. Some are customized by the travel health provider, some are produced by commercial bodies such as the pharmaceutical industry or travel goods producers, and some are given out by health authorities. All are either distributed by the health professional or are accessible to travelers for collection in clinics, in surgeries, in pharmacies or on the web.