Purpose
Overview
The CDC Yellow Book has been a trusted resource among healthcare professionals for over half a century. It compiles the U.S. government's current travel health guidance, providing healthcare professionals and international travelers with expert guidance for safe and healthy international travel. Along with disease-specific prevention and treatment recommendations, this comprehensive reference text equips readers with the background and context needed to understand and address public health threats associated with all types of international travel.
Featured in this edition:
- Vetted recommendations for pre-travel vaccinations and preventative care, including public health guidance for specific destinations and types of travel
- Special sections tailored to travelers with additional considerations, including travelers with HIV, immunocompromised travelers, severely allergic travelers, and travelers with substance use disorders
- Illustrated with vividly drawn destination maps conveying the endemicity of malaria, yellow fever, and other infectious diseases
- Expanded section on pre- and post-arrival medical evaluations of refugees, immigrants, and other migrant populations
- Expanded content on the clinical approach to international travelers returning with respiratory complaints, diarrhea, dermatologic conditions, parasitic disease, and more
The CDC Yellow Book 2026: Health Information for International Travel continues a long-standing tradition of providing guidance for the practice of travel medicine. It compiles the U.S. government's travel medicine recommendations, which include immunization and prophylaxis for international travel. The goal for this edition is to serve healthcare professionals seeking answers to travel health-related questions. We believe the CDC Yellow Book 2026 lives up to the high standards set by its predecessors.
The editorial team for the CDC Yellow Book 2026 has intended to provide the most evergreen travel health recommendations. Because the field of travel medicine and the epidemiology of travel-associated diseases will continue to evolve, the information in this book may change.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH, Director
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
Daniel Jernigan, MD, MPH, Director
Division of Global Migration Health
CAPT David Fitter, MD, Director
Travelers' Health Branch
Lisa Rotz, MD, Acting Chief
Editor in Chief
Eric S. Halsey, MD
Managing Editor
Suraj Arshanapally, MPH
Section Medical Editors
Kristina M. Angelo, DO, MPH&TM
Elizabeth D. Barnett, MD
Lin H. Chen, MD
Christina Coyle, MD, MS
Charles D. Ericsson, MD
David O. Freedman, MD
Stephen M. Ostroff, MD
Kyle Petersen, DO
Edward T. Ryan, MD
Michelle Weinberg, MD, MPH
Technical Editor
Joanna Szymonik, MPH
Cartographer
Marielle C. Glynn, MS, MAS
Editorial Assistants
Julia C. Singer, MPH
Joyelle X. Van Eron, MPH
Sandriel McKnight, MPA
Abbott, Andrew
Abe, Karon
Adams, Laura E.
Albalak, Rachel
Almayahi, Zayid K.
Alvarado-Ramy, Francisco
Angelo, Kristina M.
Anstey, Erica
Arshanapally, Suraj
Atherstone, Christine J.
Ballesteros, Michael F.
Barton Behravesh, Casey
Bonacci, Robert A.
Bonilla, Luis
Brown, Clive M.
Bustamante, Nirma D.
Cahill, Eric S.
Chancey, Rebecca J.
Chang, Arthur
Chard, Anna N.
Charp, Paul A.
Connelly, C. Roxanne
Coronado, Fátima
Cossaboom, Caitlin M.
Cote, Pierre-Olivier
Decenteceo, Francis M.
DePadilla, Lara
Desai, Meghna
Dorough, Layne
Estívariz, Concepción F.
Filardo, Thomas D.
Galang, Romeo R.
Gearhart, Shannon L.
Geissler, Aimee
Gimnig, John E.
Gittinger, Rachel
Goodson, James L.
Gould, Carolyn V.
Gregory, Cria O.
Hall, Aron J.
Halsey, Eric S.
Heitzinger, Kristen
Hill, Vincent
Hills, Susan L.
Hofmeister, Megan G.
Hughes, Michael J.
Jereb, John A.
Kamb, Mary L.
Kasule, Juliet N.
Kidd, Sarah
Knust, Barbara
Kone, Ahoua
Kovacs, Stephanie D.
Kroger, Andrew T.
Leidel, Laura
Lindsey, Nicole P.
Mace, Kimberly E.
Martin, Stacey W.
Mase, Sundari R.
Meaney-Delman, Dana
McCormick, David W.
McNamara, Lucy A.
Mirza, Sara A.
Mitchell, Tarissa
Mitruka, Kiren
Montgomery, Martha P.
Montgomery, Susan P.
Montiel, Sonia
Murthy, Neil
Nicholson, William L.
O'Connor, Lauren
O'Laughlin, Kevin
Ojwang, Joseph
Ortiz, Nancy
Park, Ina U.
Paulin, Heather N.
Paz-Bailey, Gabriela
Pecego da Silva, Ana Carla
Pieracci, Emily G.
Powers, Ann M.
Premjee, Sharmeen
Rainey, Jeanette J.
Reyes, Nimia L.
Ridpath, Alison D.
Roy, Sharon L.
Roy, Sheila C.
Rubis, Amy B.
Sánchez-González, Liliana
Schluter, W. William
Secor, W. Evan
Sircar, Kanta
Shih, David C.
Staples, J. Erin
Stoddard, Robyn A.
Stoney, Rhett J.
Straily, Anne
Szablewski, Christine M.
Tardivel, Kara
Taylor, Melanie M.
Valleau, Molly
VanderEnde, Kristin
Vinjé, Jan
Vivolo-Kantor, Alana
Wallace, Ryan M.
Wallender, Erika
Watkins, Louise K. Francois
Weinberg, Michelle
Wendt, Elizabeth M.
Weng, Mark K.
White, Stefanie
Williams, Cara
Yeh, Michael
| Name | Professional Affiliations |
|---|---|
| Ansdell, Vernon E. | John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai‘i (Honolulu, HI) |
| Backer, Howard D. | University of California Student Health Service (Berkeley, CA) |
| Barkati, Sapha | McGill University Health Centre (Montreal, Canada) |
| Barnett, Elizabeth D. | Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine; Boston Medical Center (Boston, MA) |
| Bégué, Rodolfo E. | University of Hawai‘i (Honolulu, HI) |
| Blumberg, Lucille H. | National Institute for Communicable Diseases—Honorary (Johannesburg, South Africa) |
| Borwein, Sarah | Beacon Medical Centre (Central, Hong Kong) |
| Bourque, Daniel L. | Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine; Boston Medical Center (Boston, MA) |
| Cabada, Miguel M. | University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston, TX); Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Lima, Peru) |
| Chen, Lin H. | Mount Auburn Travel Medicine Center (Cambridge, MA); Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA) |
| Chimiak, James | Diver’s Alert Network (Durham, NC) |
| Connor, Bradley A. | Weill Cornell Medical College; The New York Center for Travel and Tropical Medicine (New York, NY) |
| Coyle, Christina | Albert Einstein College of Medicine (New York, NY) |
| Dawson-Hahn, Elizabeth E. | University of Washington (Seattle, WA) |
| Ebelke, Catherine I. | Montana State University Student Health Partners (Bozeman, MT) |
| Evans, Derek P. | Evans Travel Health (South Wales, United Kingdom) |
| Fivenson, David | Trinity Health System; David Fivenson, MD, Dermatology, PLLC (Ann Arbor, MI) |
| Freedman, David | University of Alabama at Birmingham (Birmingham, AL) |
| Freer, Luanne | Everest ER Himalayan Rescue Association (Kathmandu, Nepal) |
| Golding, John F. | University of Westminster, London (London, United Kingdom) |
| Hackett, Peter H. | University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (Aurora, CO) |
| Hagmann, Stefan H. F. | Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (Nutley, NJ) |
| Hamer, Davidson H. | Boston University School of Public Health; Travel Clinic, Boston Medical Center (Boston, MA) |
| Hickey, Patrick W. | Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (Bethesda, MD) |
| Huits, Ralph | IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital (Negrar, Italy) |
| Hynes, Noreen A. | Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (Baltimore, MD) |
| Iamsirithaworn, Sopon | Ministry of Public Health (Nonthaburi, Thailand) |
| Kivlehan, Sean M. | Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA) |
| Kotton, Camille N. | Massachusetts General Hospital; Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA) |
| Kozarsky, Phyllis E. | Emory University - Emerita (Atlanta, GA) |
| LaRocque, Regina C. | Massachusetts General Hospital; Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA) |
| Lehner, Virginia M. | Bureau of Consular Affairs, US Department of State (Washington, DC) |
| Leung, Daniel T. | University of Utah School of Medicine (Salt Lake City, UT) |
| Libman, Michael | McGill University (Montreal, Canada) |
| Mann, Erin M. | University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN) |
| Nardell, Edward A. | Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA) |
| Nelson, Erica L. | Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA) |
| Nilles, Eric | Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA) |
| Nord, Daniel A. | Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine & Environmental Physiology; Duke University School of Medicine (Durham, NC) |
| Norton, Scott A. | Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (Bethesda, MD) |
| Parker, Salim | University of Cape Town (Cape Town, South Africa) |
| Quadri, Nasreen S. | University of Minnesota Medical School; University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN) |
| Quinn, James | Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (Bethesda, MD); San Antonio Military Medical Center (San Antonio, TX) |
| Riedy, Samantha M. | Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (Silver Spring, MD) |
| Rosselot, Gail | Travel Well of Westchester, Inc. (Briarcliff Manor, NY) |
| Ryan, Edward T. | Massachusetts General Hospital; Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA) |
| Sanchez, Katherine A. | ICF (Rockville, MD) |
| Shaughnessy, Megan K. | Hennepin Healthcare (Minneapolis, MN) |
| Shaw, Andrea V. | SUNY Upstate Medical University (Syracuse, NY) |
| Shlim, David R. | Jackson Hole Travel and Tropical Medicine (Wilson, WY) |
| Shurtleff, David | National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD) |
| Smith, Darvin Scott | San Mateo Medical Center (San Mateo, CA) |
| Stauffer, William M. | University of Minnesota (St. Paul, MN) |
| Stout, Shawn | National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD) |
| Valk, Thomas H. | Unaffiliated (Jupiter, FL) |
| Van Tilburg, Christopher | Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital (Hood River, OR) |
| Walker, Patricia F. | HealthPartners Travel & Tropical Medicine Center (St. Paul, MN); University of Minnesota Medical School (Minneapolis, MN) |
| Wanat, Karolyn A. | Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee, WI) |
| Wangu, Zoon | University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan School of Medicine (Worcester, MA); Massachusetts Department of Public Health (Jamaica Plain, MA) |
| Wilkins, Syreeta L. | University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN) |
| Williams, Scott G. | Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (Silver Spring, MD); Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (Bethesda, MD) |
| Wu, Henry M. | Emory University School of Medicine (Atlanta, GA) |
| Youngster, Ilan | Shamir Medical Center; Tel Aviv University (Tel Aviv, Israel) |
| Zia, Mehmil | Bureau of Consular Affairs, US Department of State (Washington, DC) |
All Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) material in this publication is in the public domain and may be used and reprinted without special permission; citation of source is appreciated.
Readers are invited to send comments and suggestions regarding this publication to yellowbook@cdc.gov.
Authorship
CDC Yellow Book authors are identified by their respective CDC Centers as having subject-matter expertise in their field. Contributing authors external to CDC are identified by the editorial staff as experts in their fields. Prior to publication, all content is reviewed by a technical editor, a medical editor, the senior medical editor, and the editor in chief before undergoing final CDC review and clearance.
Newly invited authors are asked to rewrite chapters previously written by others. All authors (both new and continuing) are expected to conduct a thorough literature search and to update their topic based on currently available science and clinical practice guidelines and recommendations. All authors have provided a signed statement declaring whether they have financial interests in or other involvements (e.g., receipt of consulting fees, lecture fees, royalties, or grant support from a commercial sponsor; ownership of stock, employment, hold patents or serve as an expert witness on behalf of a commercial sponsor) that could be construed as a conflict of interest with the subject matter or materials discussed in the chapters they have written or reviewed for CDC Yellow Book 2026.
The following authors and editors have disclosed interests below:
Barnett, Elizabeth D.
- Consulting/Advisory Boards: Sobi
- Grant/Research/Clinical Trial Support: Boston Medical Center (Pfizer vaccine trials); GSK (MMRV vaccine study)
- Other Financial Interests: Elsevier (Royalties – immigrant medicine); AAP (Royalties – Nelson's antimicrobial therapy); UpToDate (Royalties – Medical care of adult refugees, immigrants, and migrants to the United States chapter)
Borwein, Sarah
- Consulting/Advisory Board: GSK (pneumococcal vaccines)
Chen, Lin H.
- Consulting/Advisory Boards: Merck, Shoreland Inc, Valneva
- Data and Safety Monitoring Board: Valneva
Golding, John F.
- Consulting/Advisory Boards: Defender Pharmaceuticals
Hackett, Peter H.
- Other Financial Interests: UpToDate (Royalties)
Hamer, Davidson H.
- Consulting/Advisory Boards: Takeda, Valneva
- Speaker's Bureau: Bavarian Nordic
Leung, Daniel T.
- Other Financial Interests: BMJ Best Practice (Honorarium)
Ostroff, Stephen
- Consulting/Advisory Boards: Pfizer
Rosselot, Gail
- Grant/Research/Clinical Trial Support: Bavarian Nordic (educational webinar on rabies and dengue), Takeda (educational webinars on rabies and dengue)
Stauffer, William
- Consulting/Advisory Boards: BCT Partners
- Other Financial Interests: UpToDate (Royalties - Medical care of adult refugees, immigrants, and migrants to the United States chapter)
Walker, Patricia F.
- Other Financial Interests: Elsevier (Royalties – immigrant medicine textbook); UpToDate (Royalties – Medical care of adult refugees, immigrants, and migrants to the United States chapter)
Wangu, Zoon
- Other Financial Interests: Dynamed (Royalties); Elsevier (Royalties); UpToDate (Royalties)
Despite these interests, they certify that the information that they have written or reviewed for this book to be objective and free from bias. All of the relevant financial relationships listed above have been mitigated.
The remaining others have no conflict of interest with the content they have written or reviewed for this text and have expressed the content to be objective and free from bias.
Disclaimers
All CDC Yellow Book 2026 content was reviewed by subject matter experts, within and outside of CDC, and is determined to be accurate as of the date of submission of this manuscript for publication. The information that appears in this print edition, however, may not represent the most current science or public health recommendations available.
Maps: Names and boundary representation are not necessarily authoritative.
The United States takes no position as to which country has sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea, which is not a matter governed by the law of the sea.
Names of drugs, biologics, and medical products: Both generic and trade names (without trademark symbols) are used throughout this text. The use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the United States Public Health Service (USPHS), or the CDC.
Non-CDC references: References to non-CDC internet sites are provided as a service to readers and do not constitute or imply endorsement of these organizations or their programs by HHS, USPHS, or CDC. CDC is not responsible for the content of these sites. Uniform Resource Locator (URL) addresses provided in the text are current as of the date of publication.
Off-label use descriptions: Descriptions of drugs, biologics, or medical products used for an indication not in the approved labeling or packaging ("off-label" use) do not constitute official HHS approval or endorsement of those products or uses. Off-label uses described in this publication have been identified by subject matter experts based on published evidence and clinical experience. Clinicians who use a product off-label should be well-informed about the product, base its use on firm scientific rationale and sound medical evidence, and maintain records of the product's efficacy and effects.
Notice
This material is not intended to be, and should not be considered, a substitute for medical, legal, or other professional advice. Treatment of the conditions described in this text is highly dependent on individual circumstances. While this text is designed to offer accurate information with respect to the subject matter covered and to be current as of the time it was written, research and knowledge about medical, legal, and health issues are constantly evolving and dose schedules for medications and vaccines are revised continually, with new side effects recognized and accounted for regularly. Therefore, readers of this text should always confirm the accuracy of any listed product information and clinical procedures with the most up-to-date published product information and data sheets provided by manufacturers and the most recent codes of conduct and safety regulations. Oxford University Press (the Publisher) and the authors and editors make no representations or warranties to readers, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of this material, including without limitation that they make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or efficacy of the drug dosages provided. The Publisher, the authors, and editors do not accept, and expressly disclaim, any responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk that may be claimed or incurred as a consequence of the use and/or application of any of the contents of this text.
The Publisher, the authors, and editors make all editorial decisions, including content decisions.
Neither the Publisher, the authors, nor the editors are responsible for any product information added to this publication by companies purchasing copies for distribution to clinicians.
The CDC YELLOW BOOK wordmark and the CDC YELLOW BOOK logo are trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Use of these marks without prior written approval by HHS is strictly prohibited.
Suggested Citation for CDC Yellow Book 2026
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2025). CDC Yellow Book 2026: Health Information for International Travel. Oxford University Press.
Suggested Citation for a chapter of CDC Yellow Book 2026
Last Name, F. M. (2025). Title of chapter. In CDC Yellow Book 2026: Health Information for International Travel. Retrieved from URL.