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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
With how cold Yellowknife gets during winter months, many residents like to choose a warm destination for their vacations. The Department of Health and Social Services has a message for those who choose to travel abroad - get your shots.

Kami Kandola, deputy chief public health officer for the Department of Health and Social Services, wants people to be prepared with vaccinations and the right information before they travel outside of Canada. - Kevin Allerston/NNSL photo Most popular destinations abroad where vaccinations are recommended Dominican Republic Typhoid, malaria, hepatitis A and B Mexico Hepatitis A and B, typhoid South and Central America Yellow fever, typhoid, hepatitis A and B Asia Hepatitis A and B, Japanese encephalitis Africa Yellow fever, typhoid, malaria, hepatitis A and B, dengue fever (no vaccination available) It is recommended that all travellers with destinations outside Canada be up to date with routine vaccinations for diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, etc. It is also recommended that anybody staying abroad for an extended period of time receive a rabies vaccination, which costs $600. Source: Centre for Disease Control

This afternoon, the department is hosting an information session with internationally renowned travel health physician Dr. Jay Keystone on the second floor of the Centre Square Mall office tower. The session is geared toward health professionals, but a representative from the department says the information is important for the general public to know.

"The need for educational session on travel health and travel health vaccines relates to the fact that north of 60, people in the NWT like to travel to warm, tropical places, especially because of the long, cold winters," said Kami Kandola, deputy chief public health officer.

"Frequently they will travel to the Caribbean, Mexico, sometimes Africa and South America. There's a lot of destinations where travel vaccines will be required and travel health advice needs to be given."

The most common places Yellowknifers go where vaccinations are needed include the Dominican Republic, Mexico, South and Central America, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.

Kandola said because Yellowknife's travel health clinic gets booked up quickly, people should ideally schedule vaccinations three months ahead of time if they know they will be travelling abroad.

"There are some vaccinations that need to be given over a month's period. But if you wait until a month before you leave, you may not get all the critical vaccines," said Kandola.

Last year, 303 people received vaccinations before travelling.

Keystone, who works at the Toronto General Hospital, said he intends to engage with his audience rather than offer a dry recital of best practices.

"The way I teach the overview of travel medicine, I've divided them into 10 commandments: Thou shalt see thy travel medicine physician; thou shalt not eat uncooked fruits and vegetables; thou shalt purify thy water; thou shalt carry an antibiotic for self-treatment of travellers' diarrhea," he said.

"I'm covering everything from malaria prevention to travellers' diarrhea, all these things that people need to understand and know about. I'm giving a talk on, what's new in travel vaccines, and also what's new for adult vaccines that we recommend in Canada, and there are lots of things going on, particularly in adult vaccines. Each talk is really an update on, what's new," said Keystone.

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