If you are planning to travel outside of Canada, you might require several travel vaccinations, depending on your travel destination, the length of your stay and whether or not your routine immunizations are up-to-date. Since it can take several weeks for an immunization to kick in and develop a reliable shield against preventable diseases, you should consult a travel health clinic or your family physician 6 to 8 weeks before your trip in order to allow enough time for the vaccines or immunizing agent to take effect.

The chance of being exposed to infections abroad depends entirely on the style, location, and duration of travel. Exotic meals and beverages may cause one of the most common illness - Delhi Belly more commonly known as travellers’ diarrhea, which, in its own way, may lead to serious intestinal disorders or in the worst event to a cancerous bladder!

Flu viruses and flu vaccines vary in different parts of the world, and change every year, but the Canadian vaccine is usually a fairly typical one, and will offer a lot of protection against catching both flu and travel diarrhea on most airline routes. Travellers should visit their doctor or a travel clinic at least two months before departure. This will give time for the slower-acting vaccines, like hepatitis vaccines or influenza shots, to take effect. However, long time before your first flight, some horrible illnesses, like meningitis, have to be vaccinated against at birth.

So before you plan your travel, plan immunization schedule with your family physician.