Promoting health in international travel.

As international travel becomes more frequent, consumers are expressing a need for current, comprehensive information about disease prevention abroad. Many health care providers lack the knowledge to respond to this need. This article provides information on general preventive measures for commonly encountered infectious diseases and discusses the use of vaccines and chemoprophylaxis. Legal requirements for the quarantinable diseases are reviewed. Readers are directed to authoritative references, and considerations to be addressed in the pretravel visit are outlined. Disease prevention in international travel is an important aspect of health promotion, particularly in our mobile society. With development of the necessary skills and knowledge, nurse practitioners can and should play a significant role in this area.