A responsible traveler receives an inoculation before traveling abroad.

Recently the Center for Disease Control has become increasingly concerned about the large number of international travelers who don’t take health precautions very seriously and thus post the risk of spreading dangerous, infectious diseases to other travelers.

In the past two or three years, the CDC has logged over 650 reported cases of tuberculosis among travelers, carried principally by air when arriving or returning to the U.S. With the speed and abundance of air travel, a serious disease such as this has the potential to spread farther and faster than more notorious infections such as the famous case of Typhoid Mary.

Chicken pox and shingles also rank high among diseases that have the CDC concerned, especially because no one can say with certainty how many such cases go unreported each year. These are spread on cruise ships as well as airliners.

In such cases, to borrow a phrase from conservative football fans, “the best offense is a good defense.” Whenever one travels outside the U.S., it’s wise to contact the CDC or your local city or county health office to see what inoculations or preventatives are required or recommended for the destinations you plan to visit.

It’s estimated that a shocking two-thirds of travelers to Asia and Latin America who should arrange for them, do not get travel inoculations before leaving home. More than half of those traveling in areas subject to malaria have failed to take the necessary preventive measures. With numbers that large, the odds that you’ll be sitting next to one of them on a long flight are pretty high.

The solution is to see a travel doctor (often employed by the city or county of your residence) four to six weeks before your travel date to start the required course of recommended inoculations or preventative medications. Why a travel specialist instead of your family doctor? Because exotic viral diseases move and change, making it impossible for your personal physician to keep up to date with the current geo-spread of, say, dengue fever.

Also, your personal recommendation may change based on your own age or health status. Children, pregnant women, or those on certain medications need the benefit of a travel specialist when choosing travel vaccinations and precautions.

The more exotic the destination, the more necessary such measures become. (Remember that if you’re flying to and from Johannesburg for business, there’s a good chance you’ll be seated next to someone who’s been on safari.)

Those who are among the four-in-ten who act responsibly can travel with peace of mind, knowing they have protected themselves as well as members of the public in their close proximity.

It goes without saying that in addition to travel inoculations, care when consuming water is enormously important to your travel health.

For more about travel vaccinations, visit the CDC’s information page.