The CDC’s 2018 edition of it’s“Health Information for International Travel” guide is now available and accessible for free online.

Often referred to simply as the “Yellow Book” for it’s yellow cover, the updated edition is also available in hard copy through online booksellers and Oxford University Press.

To access the online version of the CDC’s 2018 edition of the “Yellow Book,” please click on the image.

The guide’s new edition features revisions, new sections, updated health recommendations for travelers, and a more user-friendly layout, according to a news release from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The “Yellow Book” also provides travelers with specific food safety information for international trip preparation and for maintaining good health while abroad. This includes planning for healthy travel by anticipating food risks, and monitoring important symptoms and complications during travel, and after returning home.

In the 2018 edition, sections such as “Fever in Returned Travelers,” “Cruise Ship Travel” and “Traveling with Infants and Children” all include updated information about food safety awareness and actions travelers can take to reduce risk.

“Foods served to children should be thoroughly cooked and eaten while still hot; fruits eaten raw should be peeled by the caregiver immediately before consumption,” according to the section on traveling with children.

“Additionally, caution should be used with fresh dairy products, which may not be pasteurized and may be diluted with untreated water. For short trips, parents may want to take a supply of safe snacks from home for times when the children are hungry and the available food may not be appealing or safe.”

Other food safety features in the 2018 edition of the “Yellow Book” include:

• Foodborne infections related to travel such as E. coli, Salmonella, norovirus, and Hepatitis A;
• Food and water precautions;
• Food poisoning from marine toxins;
• New cholera vaccine recommendations; and
• Updated guidance for use of antibiotics to treat travelers’ diarrhea.

Specific tips for different types of travel and travelers include:

• Precautions for travelers who are immunocompromised or have chronic illnesses;
• Special considerations for wilderness expeditions, work-related travel, and study abroad;
• Practical tips for last-minute or resource-limited travelers;
• Advice for pregnant travelers; and
• Guides for air crews, health care workers, humanitarian aid workers, missionaries, and others who provide care and support overseas.