After a vacation gone wrong for a Windsor-area couple, a local travel clinic is stressing there is an information gap for those heading abroad.
Alaina Matijiw is a nurse practitioner at TMC Travel Clinic, which has locations in Windsor and Tecumseh. She tells AM800 News there are a number of risks people aren't aware of and fail to guard against.
"It doesn't matter if you go to Mexico, the Carribean or go to Africa — there are risks everywhere you go. It's important to be educated on that and get vaccinated before you go."
Matijiw points to a number of disease from Japanese encephalitis to typhoid fever and even diarrhea or cholera as illnesses that can be prevented by vaccine.
She adds there's a long list of other information travellers should catch up on like malaria prevention and insect precautions.
Matijiw says travellers need to be aware of where the risks are, from what you eat and drink and even from the sand to the water.
"There are different parasites in bacteria that can be found in fresh water so, that's a higher risk," says Matijiw. "Even if a person was to urinate in the water, there are different parasites that can flow upstream so, those are definitely things you need to be aware of."
Matijiw wasn't surprised by the hook worm disaster a pair of local residents endured.
"I was familiar with what it was," says Matijiw. "When we see people before they go, we actually recommend that they do wear sandals or water shoes on their feet to protect them from actually contracting that hook worm."
Matijiw adds it's best to visit the travel clinic four to six weeks ahead of any vacation.