North America Risks and Other Information

< Back to Risks and Other Information
< More information on North America

Vaccines

CDC recommends the following vaccines for travel to North America (as appropriate for age):

See your doctor at least 4-6 weeks before your trip to allow time for shots to take effect.

The incidence of communicable diseases is such that they are unlikely to prove a hazard for international travelers greater than that found in their own country. There are, of course, health risks, but in general, the precautions required are minimal.

Certain diseases occasionally occur, such as plague, rabies in wildlife, including bats, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, arthropod-borne encephalitis, and seasonal outbreaks of influenza. Rodent-borne hantavirus has been identified, predominantly in the western states of the United States. Lyme disease is endemic in the northeastern United States, Mid-Atlantic, and the upper Midwest and the southwestern provinces of Canada. Occasional cases have been reported from the Pacific Northwest. Recently, cases of West Nile virus have occurred around the New York City area. During recent years, the incidence of certain food borne diseases, e.g. E. coli O157:H7 and salmonellosis, has increased in some regions.