Do you enjoy travel? Do you dream about getting your feet wet in the sapphire-blue waters of the Caribbean or gazing onto the famed ruins of Machu Pico while in Peru? Do you yearn to down pints of Guinness inside a proper Irish pub or to stroll the Champs-Élysées with a baguette under your arm? What about slowly sipping a crisp white wine while eating fresh fish pulled from the Aegean or hand feeding a bonobo monkey at a game reserve in Africa? Let me stop here, for I can go on and on..and on. I am one of these people. I love to travel and I have been lucky enough to have experienced several of the wonderful situations mentioned above. Being from NYC, I used to think I could take care of myself while overseas—but now I employ the services of a travel clinic before I jet off on my adventures.
To many people the services of a travel clinics seems like just another expense, but that is not the case. The world is a wide and wild place and—even though I am from NYC—I don’t know half of what I think I know! For instance did you know that many countries in South East Asia, Central and South America and Africa (Tanzania, Kenya,etc) will deny you entry without a legal document from a certified travel clinic stating that you have received the yellow fever vaccine prior to your trip? I didn’t either. Good thing a friend turned me onto the services of a travel clinic before my last trip. I would have found myself in a heap of trouble—instead of tossing fruit at monkeys!
I now, it’s hard to be from NYC and think that you need help for anything. At least it was for me. What I found out regarding what a travel clinic does changed my mind. Inoculations and vaccines are so very important when traveling overseas. It seems obvious, of course, to know that one needs protection from disease when traveling to far-off parts of the world, but many people segregate this sort of thinking and forget about it till the last minute. Many vaccines are recommended to be administered six weeks before travel. Any time is good, but the ideal is six weeks. That’s a whole lot of planning.
HIV is a disease that one cannot be inoculated for, but the prevalence of it in a foreign country says a lot about the general state of health in the region. In NYC things seem to be getting a lot better regarding HIV/AIDS, but throughout the world it is a different story. Check out some of these statistics:
Asia
Some estimates say there are approximately five million people living in Asia with HIV/AIDS. Asia is the world’s most populated continent, so this number is not as high as it might first appear. In fact, the percentage of infection is less than 1% of the population.
Caribbean
During the last year it is approximated that approximately 10,000 people were newly infected here. Such a beautiful place for such an ugly disease.
Eastern Europe & Central Asia
The statistics out of this area continue to be very sad. The number of the infected is believed to be almost 2,000,000.
Central & South America
Throughout these two regions over 1,500,000 continue to live with HIV and AIDS.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Africa is the most HIV & AIDS ravaged region on Earth. Contemplate the following statistic: Africa has just 10% of the world’s population—but is home to over 65% of all people living with HIV/AIDS.
Anyone living in NYC who feels like it is time to employ the services of a travel clinic should log onto Travel Clinic NYC. It is a highly professional facility, totally discreet and helpful with all manner of travel health. I have just touched the surface with this tiny article. Visit for yourself and find out. To arrange an appointment, simply call 1-212-696-5900. They are very close to Grand Central Station, so travel there is as easy as can be. Be safe!
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