The following recommendations were approved by the Specialized Commission for Infectious Diseases and Emerging Diseases of the High Council for Public Health on April 14, 2022. They were developed by a specific working group within this commission and address vaccination recommendations, prevention advice and actions to take in the face of the main risks, as well as according to the traveler’s age or chronic condition.
This issue lists more than 25 diseases and covers approximately 175 countries on all continents.
The situation in each country and the resulting prevention recommendations have been updated according to the most recent WHO data.
Health recommendations for travelers – 2022 edition: new features compared to the previous edition
Chapter 1 – Vaccinations
- Covid-19: entry into and exit from French territory is subject to a regularly updated classification of countries.
- Japanese encephalitis: addition of Papua New Guinea to the list of countries at risk and update of data concerning Australia.
- Yellow fever: no risk of transmission, no obligation to vaccinate for Ascension Island (United Kingdom), Laos, Libya, the Philippines, and the British Indian Ocean Territory. Many new areas at risk of exposure requiring vaccination against yellow fever are identified.
- Tuberculosis: Addition of Saudi Arabia, Russian Federation, Ukraine and Croatia to the list of high incidence geographical areas.
Chapters 2 and 3 – Risks linked to arthropods, personal anti-vector protection and malaria
- Malaria in the world: increase in the number of cases and deaths reported in 2021. Pressure of the Covid-19 pandemic on health systems greatly reducing malaria control activities. China and El Salvador malaria-free since 2021. WHO recommendation in October 2021 to use the RTS’S malaria vaccine in children residing in medium and high endemicity areas.
- Malaria in France: increase in the number of cases in 2021 (2,185 declared cases, +117% compared to 2020, according to data from the National Reference Center for Malaria) with the resumption of international travel (sub-Saharan Africa in particular). Delay in diagnosis is one of the main risk factors for severe disease and death, hence the importance of prescribing appropriate prevention and its follow-up.
- Personal anti-vector protection against diseases transmitted by arthropods: abandonment of the recommendation to impregnate clothing with permethrin for the general population (risk of its individual and environmental toxicity), recommendation only for refugees or soldiers, in lack of access to impregnated mosquito nets.
- Malaria chemoprophylaxis: abandonment of the use of chloroquine (unfavorable benefit/risk balance, interruption of the marketing of the syrup form since July 2021 and of the tablets at the end of 2022).
Chapters 5 to 12 – Risks related to transport, the environment, activities, behaviors and situations, various precautions
- Update of the recommendations concerning: the prevention of “jet lag”, the prevention of thromboembolic disease, the prevention of motion sickness, the prevention of exposure to solar radiation and the prevention of acute mountain sickness.
Before any departure, Public Health France recommends consulting the website diplomatie.gouv.froffered by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in order to find advice and practical information about your destination.
You can also register at The Ariadne’s thread to receive real-time safety instructions during your trip.
