AUGUSTA-- The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) is encouraging Maine residents to stay safe while traveling this spring. Travel and vacations can promote physical and mental well-being. That said, with school and other spring vacations occurring amid ongoing outbreaks of measles in the U.S., and mosquito-borne diseases like dengue in the Caribbean, and in Central and South America, travelers should plan ahead and take steps to stay healthy, whether traveling in the U.S. or abroad.
The Maine CDC offers the following tips for safe and healthy travel:
- Check travel requirements and recommendations for your destination.
- Talk to your health care provider to get destination-specific vaccines, medicines, and information.
- Stay up to date on your routine vaccines. Vaccines help prevent diseases that can be associated with gathering and travel, such as measles and dengue.
- Prevent measles before travel. As of April 3, 2025, the U.S. CDC has been notified of 607 confirmed cases of measles across 22 states and jurisdictions. Measles is an airborne, extremely infectious, and potentially severe, rash illness. The U.S. CDC recommends that children 6-11 months old get a dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine before traveling to a region with a known active measles outbreak. Additionally, the Maine CDC recommends one dose of MMR vaccine for children 6-11months old if traveling domestically to a region with a known active measles outbreak. Everyone 12 months and older should get two doses if they are not already vaccinated. If your trip is less than two weeks away and you're not protected, you should still get a dose of the MMR vaccine. Talk to your health care provider if you received a measles vaccine between 1963 to 1967, a time when measles vaccines offered less protection.
- Pack the essentials. Make sure you have tissues, hand sanitizer, masks, EPA-approved repellents, sunscreen, and other essentials to protect yourself and your family while traveling. Consider packing a travel health kit.
- Make contingency plans. Consider what you could do to get health care during travel if needed.
- Protect yourself during travel. Wash your hands frequently. Consider wearing a mask in crowded areas with little ventilation. Consider avoiding raw or undercooked foods, like meat, fish, and shellfish. Be aware of drinking water quality. Take steps to protect your sexual health.
- Prevent bites from mosquitoes and ticks by wearing long-sleeves and pants, using EPA-approved repellents, sleeping under bed nets, and keeping a distance from wildlife.
If you feel sick or have a fever after your trip, call a health care provider and be sure to tell them about your recent travel.
For more information visit the U.S. CDC's travel page.