Travel Notices
Conditions in other countries, both natural and man-made, may be significantly different from those in Canada and may affect affect the health of Canadian travellers: standards of hygiene may be different; food and water may be contaminated; the climate or environmental conditions may favour disease organisms which do not (or rarely) occur in Canada.
The Public Health Agency of Canada actively seeks to identify, verify, and evaluate data with regard to new, unusual or rapidly evolving health risks abroad. Depending on the potential risk to Canadian travellers and the Canadian public, the Agency may, w hen appropriate, release a Travel Health Notice to inform travellers of the situation and to advise on preventive measures that may be taken in order to the risk of exposure.
PHAC issues three levels of Travel Health Notices, which correspond to the severity of the risk posed.
Involve health risks posed by known infectious diseases or conditions within a particular geographic location. In general, the advice deals with risks that are restricted entirely to the traveller and have no potential implications for the non-travelling Canadian population.
Intention:
Travel Health Advisories are issued to protect the health of Canadians by encouraging healthy travel abroad through the provision of recommendations on vaccination, preventative medication and personal protective measures that may be taken to reduce identified health risks. |
Issued, in general, when there are elements of uncertainty concerning the risk of an identified illness at a particular destination or when the health risk to Canadian travellers is high. A travel health warning may recommend the postponement of all non-essential travel to that destination.
Intention:
Travel Health Warnings are issued to protect the health of Canadian travellers by providing recommendations on vaccination, preventative medication, personal protective measures, and where necessary the postponement of non-essential travel. |
Level 3
Travel Restrictions |
Issued, in general, when a risk involving a dangerous contagious disease that would have serious implications for both the traveller and the general Canadian population has been identified. A travel restriction could recommend the suspension of all travel to or from a particular region and/or mandatory quarantine for travellers arriving from a particular region. A Travel Restriction would require ministerial authority.
Intention:
To protect the health of Canadian travellers and the Canadian public by limiting travel in order to prevent the importation of a highly pathogenic infectious disease into Canada. |
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