Health advices

What can I do to protect myself if I want to travel to affected area?

Travellers should follow standard precautions regarding respiratory infection if they travel to areas where human infections with novel influenza have been reported. All travellers to Mexico1 should respect general hygiene measures such as:

1. Avoiding close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.
2. Staying home from work, school, and avoid running errands when you are sick. This will help prevent others from catching your illness.
3. Avoiding crowding or mass gatherings.
4. Covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick. Throw the tissue in the bin after you use it.
5. Washing your hands will help protect you from germs. Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners may also be effective. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth because germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.

 

What precautions are needed for travellers returning from affected areas?

Travellers returning from affected areas should observe their personal health and should immediately contact a physician if, within seven days of return, they experience:

• Fever and one or more of the following symptoms
• Respiratory symptoms such as cough or runny nose
  1. Sore throat
  2. Possibly other symptoms such as
     • Body aches (particularly muscle pain)
     • Headache
     • Chills
     • Fatigue
  3. Vomiting or diarrhoea (not typical for influenza but reported by some of the recent cases of swine influenza infection)
  4. Please, in this communication inform about your travel to the affected area and the returning date. The contact telephone number in all spanish regions is 112 except the following : Andalucía: 902 505 060, Aragón: 112 y 061, Baleares: 061, Canarias: 012, Cantabria: 942 35 74 18, Cataluña: “Sanidad responde”, 902 111 444, Galicia: 061, Valencia: 900 161 161.

Influenza A(H1N1). Latest news

Centers for Disease Control And Prevention. Preventing the Flu: Good Health Habits Can Help Stop Germs