Hepatitis A is an infectious disease that targets your liver. It’s commonly spread through contaminated food and water, but can also be contracted through hand contact or a sexual encounter with an infected person.

In most cases, Hepatitis A does not cause lasting damage to the liver when treated properly and early. However, if left undetected, Hepatitis A can create serious liver disease, prolonged fatigue, and in rare cases, death.

If you are traveling to a developing country, you are at a higher risk for contracting Hepatitis A. The disease can also be found in traditional accommodations in urban areas.

Hepatitis B is a highly contagious viral disease that is contracted through contact with contaminated blood and other bodily fluids. This disease is commonly spread through unprotected sex, blood transfusions, and injecting drugs, though you can also contract it through simple procedures like a body piercing or manicure.

Untreated Hepatitis B can lead to serious liver disease, liver cancer, cirrhosis, and chronic liver infection. All travelers are urged to receive a Hepatitis B vaccination regardless of your destination.

Influenza, or commonly called the flu, is spread by contact with infected fluids from the nose and throat. The flu is a seasonal illness that puts travelers in September through April at higher risk for contracting it.

Complications resulting from the flu increase for certain age groups, such as children under 2 years of age, pregnant women in their 2nd or 3rd trimester, or persons with chronic illness. Generally, those who contract the flu are at risk for ear infections, sinusitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, or even death.

There is no vaccine to prevent the contraction of AIDS/HIV. More than 150 counties worldwide have established entry limits to foreign travelers seropositive for HIV, which helps to limit your potential exposure. However, you can prevent or limit your exposure to the disease by not engaging in unprotected sexual encounters.

Complications of AIDS/HIV include a weakened immune system that leaves you vulnerable to other diseases, opportunistic infections such as pneumonia, cancer, and death.