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Department of Internal Medicine
Division of Infectious Diseases


photo of the Brody building


 


International & Tropical Travel Clinic

 
GENERAL INFORMATION:
 
Year by year, the number of individuals making international travel continues to grow substantially.  As globalization continues and air travel becomes more affordable, this trend is expected to continue for some time in the future.  The need to address travel related health issues that can arise during or after returning from trips has created a new specialty field in Travel Medicine.  The East Carolina University (ECU) International & Tropic Travel clinic is striving to fulfill this need for our international travelers.  
 
The East Carolina University International & Tropical Travel Clinic offers pre-travel counseling, immunizations, and health advice for adults and children who are planning to travel out of the United States of America.  The clinic is a North Carolina State Department of Health-designated center for yellow fever vaccine.  The clinic also offers post travel consultation. All of our patient evaluations and consultations are done on a one to one basis with physicians who have experience in Tropical Medicine.  Our goal is to protect the health of travelers by providing exemplary clinical care along with specific advice and information for each traveler. 
 
The Clinic is under the Division of Infectious Diseases at East Carolina University and is run by faculty from the division.  The Clinic is located at Doctors Park #6A. The regular clinic office hours are every Monday from 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM and Tuesday from 8.30 AM to 12.30 PM.  Though this is the regular clinic hour, we will try to accommodate all who call prior to their trip date.   
 
CLINIC VISIT:
 
During the clinic visit, travelers will be counseled regarding health and health related issues that they might encounter during their trip.  Discussions will be tailored based on a traveler's itinerary, length of stay and adventurous nature of the trip.  Advice will include malaria and vaccine preventable diseases risk assessment. Additionally advise regarding water and food safety, insect precautions and accident and injury avoidance will be made. Travelers would be made aware of the occurrence of any disease outbreaks in their international destinations.  Each traveler will be provided with printed information regarding health and health related issues in the destination country, requirements for vaccinations and information on the prevention of diarrhea disease and insect borne illnesses.  Additionally, travelers will receive a copy of the Vaccine Information Statements (VI'S) for each vaccine administered. 
 
Services provided in the travel clinic include (but not limited to):
*  Immunizations for vaccine preventable diseases
*  Medication for malaria prophylaxis, as appropriate for the planned itinerary
*  Instruction and advice regarding insect repellents and insect protection
*  Instructions for the management and treatment of travelers' diarrhea
*  Advice regarding health related risks and prevention for the planned itinerary
*  Post travel evaluation
*  Issuance of the International Certificate of Vaccination "the yellow card"
 
SCHEDULING AN APPOINTMENT:
 
Pre-travel consultations are available by appointment only. The appointments are handled by the Division of Infectious Diseases. Because several weeks may be required to complete a needed vaccine series, it is recommended that the initial appointment be held at least 4 weeks before departure. Travelers should telephone for an appointment two weeks before that.  When this is not feasible, we will attempt to meet the travelers' need as much as possible. The telephone number to schedule an appointment is (252) 744-5751 or (252) 744-4500 option 3. Every traveler is advised to bring his/her prior vaccination records to the clinic visit. Travelers who are calling for follow-up booster vaccines will be scheduled as a traveler nurse visit.  The contact number is (252) 744-4500 option 1.