The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sent out the following cheery message to warn those of us who might be going to Asia to celebrate the new year with firecrackers and dragon dances and stuff:

Keeping Yourself Safe from Bird Flu: An Important Message for People Traveling to Asia To Celebrate the Lunar New Year (February 7, 2008)

There are several health issues that travelers to Asia should know about. Mosquito-borne illnesses, such as malaria, dengue fever, and Japanese encephalitis, are common throughout Asia. In addition, eating contaminated food and drinking contaminated water can cause illnesses such as travelers’ diarrhea.

Influenza (also called the flu or seasonal flu) is a common cause of illness among travelers and can be prevented through influenza vaccination. In addition, a different type of flu called H5N1 (“bird flu”) has been found in poultry and wild birds in Asia, Europe and Africa. While rare, human infection and death from H5N1 infection have been reported. Most reported cases of human infection with H5N1 viruses have occurred after contact with H5N1-infected poultry or birds, but a small number of cases may have occurred following close and prolonged contact with another person who is visibly ill from H5N1 infection.

If you’re planning to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Asia, beware the germs in:

Bangladesh
Burma (Myanmar)
Cambodia
China
Hong Kong (SARPRC)
India
Indonesia
Japan
Laos
Malaysia
Mongolia
Pakistan
South Korea ( Republic of Korea)
Thailand
Vietnam

If you still insist on entering the Land of No Return to celebrate, CDC offers the following tips to follow during your trip:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water. You can use an alcohol-based hand gel when you do not have soap and your hands do not look dirty.
• Avoid close contact with ill persons.
• Remember to cover your cough:
  - Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.
  - Put your used tissue in a wastebasket.
  - Clean your hands after coughing or sneezing by washing them with soap and water (or by using an alcohol-based hand gel containing at least 60% alcohol).
• Go to the doctor if you have a fever with a cough or sore throat, are having difficulty breathing, or have become very sick. Tell the doctor if you may have been around a person or animal with bird flu.
• Avoid traveling until you are well, unless you have to travel locally to get treatment for your sickness.
• Do not go to bird farms or live bird markets.
• Avoid touching:
  - Live birds, including chickens, ducks, and wild birds, even if they do not seem sick.
  - Dead or sick chickens, ducks, or any other birds.
  - Surfaces that have bird feces, blood, or other body fluids on them.
• Make sure the meat and other foods from birds that you eat, like eggs and poultry blood, are fully cooked. Egg yolks should not be runny or liquid.
• Keep raw meats away from other foods. After touching raw poultry or eggs, wash your hands and all surfaces, dishes, and utensils thoroughly with soap and water.
• Use insect repellent to prevent bites from insects and mosquitoes that transmit malaria, dengue, and other infections. If you are visiting an area with Malaria, take your malaria prevention medicine.
• Use sunscreen.
• Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of injury-related deaths worldwide, so it is important to take precautions. Don’t drink and drive. Always wear a seatbelt when traveling in a moving vehicle and a helmet when you ride bicycles and motorcycles.

If you happen by chance to survive your trip to Asia, you still could come down with bird flu. Here are the warning signs:

• Pay very close attention to how you feel for at least 10 days after you get home. Go to the doctor if you have a fever with a cough or sore throat, or have trouble breathing.
• When you go to the doctor, tell your doctor that you have been to a country where people have been sick with bird flu and that you are feeling sick.
• Avoid traveling if you are sick, unless it is to go to the doctor.

Happy Lunar New Year!