With forethought and sensible precautions, vacationers can help reduce the likelihood of food borne illness when traveling abroad. The most frequent cause of illness when traveling outside of your country is traveler's diarrhea. Other precautions are to avoid purchasing food or drink sold from street vendors. While they may bring temporary relief, the use of antacids and agents that block the release of stomach acid can lower the gastric acidity barrier and increase the risk of disease.
Cholera is another illness that strikes foreign travelers.
In addition to following the recommendations for avoiding traveler's diarrhea, you should stay away from eating fish and shellfish when traveling in the more than 60 countries where cholera is now endemic. Cholera currently affects up to one in 150 unprotected visitors to Africa or Southeast Asia. To protect yourself against cholera, you should be immunized with hepatitis A vaccine at least two weeks before travel. This disease has a long incubation period so it is often difficult to pinpoint the source of acquisition of the disease. Level of travel is not always a safeguard.