AGENTS and operators have a duty to inform customers of the climate and potential illnesses that can be caught in the destinations they are heading to, according to Dr Thomas Stuttaford, chief medical commentator for The Times.
While widespread travel should be encouraged, the industry should not assume all destinations are suitable for all customers. “You should do more to inform people about destinations and whether it’s safe for them to go there. A country’s climate may not be right for all people. But be careful not to misinform.”
Agents should make travellers aware of the injections and medicines they need to take, and operators should include health advice in brochures.
The biggest illness to strike down travellers was an upset stomach, with up to half of all people heading to a developing country coming down with diarrhoea within three days of arrival. Other more serious illnesses posed less of a risk, with a 2.4% chance of catching malaria, particularly in western Africa, and a one in three million chance of getting cholera.
Travellers would be pleased to know they only stand a 0.001% chance of dying, and if they did, they would be 25 times more likely to die of an accident or existing condition than by catching a disease claimed Dr Stuttaford.