As a pharmacist who travels, I’m always looking for good, comprehensive web sites to let me know the latest in what’s happening at the destinations we’re visiting. Travmed.com is definitely one of the better ones I’ve seen. After experiencing a bout of tick bite fever in South Africa last year, I’m a believer in the value of good information on-line.

Here’s more about the site:

Emergency room physician and book author, Stuart Rose, launches online health resource for international vacationers, business travelers and outdoor enthusiasts. Rose has expanded his expertise with www.travmed.com, a site that provides vacationers, business travelers and outdoor enthusiasts with a complete source for all things related to healthy travel. Updated daily, it includes:

..Destination reports for over 200 countries: each report includes information such as time zone, vaccination requirements, disease risk summaries, outbreak news, malaria maps, embassy contact information, and a list of hospitals and physicians

..Travel clinic directory: an updated list of clinics in the United States, Canada and overseas

..The International Travel Health Guide: A favorite resource used by travel health practitioners and now available online at no charge. This twenty-two-chapter health guide is the only travel health resource in the United States updated bi-weekly. The book covers all of the essentials of health-related travel, from pre-travel vaccinations, jet lag and motion sickness to traveling with an existing illness, or while pregnant.

..Essential links for the global traveler: preparation checklists, insect-bite prevention, U.S. Department of Sate Travel Advisories, CDC links, and much more.

..International SOS travel insurance: with a 20% discount for those who purchase a policy through travmed.com

..Travel supplies: essential travel products ranging from medical kits, survival tools, packing solutions, insect bite protection, and more.

Rose notes that as many as 70% of travelers report an illness or impairment when traveling abroad. “Many of the illnesses associated with traveling out of the county, such as malaria, hepatitis and even travelers’ diarrhea, are preventable,” says Dr. Rose. “It’s important to help reduce some of the risks by doing your homework ahead of time.”