Neighborhood Center for Travel Health
Every year many travelers and in particular immigrants and
their children visiting family or friends in Africa, Asia or South America
fall sick with illnesses that are preventable.
In addition, many countries in West Africa require a yellow
fever vaccination before entry into the country.
The Neighborhood Center for Travel Health provides travelers with the proper
immunizations, prophylactic medications and travel information to help make
their trips’ safe and healthy. Advice is individualized depending on the
exact itinerary, planned activities and chronic medical problems. Our clinic
is a center designated by the New York State Department of Health for yellow
fever vaccine and we are authorized to validate the International
Certificate of Vaccination. We also provide consultations for illnesses
after travel with an on-site diagnostic laboratory available. In you do not
speak English well; our team also speaks Spanish, French, German, Mandigo,
Wolof, and Dioula.
An appointment (in particular for children) should be made 6 to 8 weeks
prior to travel, in order to complete all necessary immunizations. However,
it is still worthwhile and recommended to visit our Center even if you are
leaving on short notice.
Pediatric ID to be Member of the GeoSentinel Network -
www.geosentinel.org
The GeoSentinel network is a global travel/tropical diseases
surveillance network of the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM)
and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This network currently
comprises 33 sites worldwide that perform unlinked anonymous surveillance of
travel related illnesses for public health purposes.
The GeoSentinel concept sees providers in travel/tropical medicine clinics
as well as in general medicine clinics and emergency room departments
ideally situated to effectively provide surveillance of illnesses among
international travelers and migrants. The major aim is to detect emerging
infections of potential global impact at their point of entry into domestic
populations and to track ongoing trends in travel-related morbidity.
Returning travelers seen at relatively few sentinel sites provide a sample
of disease agents in over 230 different countries. Real-time data is
captured at the clinical point of service, avoiding delays inherent in
laboratory-based surveillance. Patients eligible for surveillance are those
who have crossed international borders in the last 10 years and are seeking
medical care.