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After the trip

Feeling ill after travel? What the CDC says about when to see a provider, and a one-page travel history to take with you. A summary, not a diagnosis.

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This is a summary of CDC pages, not a diagnosis or medical advice. If you feel unwell after a trip, especially with a fever, contact a healthcare provider and tell them where you have been.

What the CDC pages say

  • You can be infected during travel and have no symptoms until you get home. If you feel sick after your trip, particularly with a fever, contact a healthcare provider.

    CDC Travelers' Health: After travel · Page last reviewed October 6, 2022 · Checked 2026-10-24

  • Tell the provider about the trip: destinations, dates, where you stayed, food and water, animal contact, injuries or bug bites, medical care you received, and any tattoos or piercings.

    CDC Travelers' Health: After travel · Page last reviewed October 6, 2022 · Checked 2026-10-24

  • If the provider cannot find the cause, you can ask for an infectious disease doctor or a travel medicine specialist.

    CDC Travelers' Health: After travel · Page last reviewed October 6, 2022 · Checked 2026-10-24

  • Long-term travellers, such as expatriate workers or volunteers, may be infected without symptoms and may want a thorough medical exam after returning.

    CDC Travelers' Health: After travel · Page last reviewed October 6, 2022 · Checked 2026-10-24

  • If you have a fever or flu-like illness while in an area where malaria spreads, or after returning home for up to one year, seek immediate medical attention and tell your provider your travel history.

    CDC: Preventing malaria while traveling · March 12, 2024 · Checked 2026-10-24

  • Having taken malaria prevention medicine does not exclude malaria: a history of taking it does not rule the possibility out.

    CDC Yellow Book: post-travel evaluation of the ill traveler (written for clinicians) · Edition 2026, Apr. 23, 2025 · Checked 2026-10-24

  • The page says one form of malaria is a medical emergency requiring urgent intervention, and that malaria should be ruled out in anyone with a fever after returning from a malaria area.

    CDC Yellow Book: post-travel evaluation of the ill traveler (written for clinicians) · Edition 2026, Apr. 23, 2025 · Checked 2026-10-24

  • Findings that should prompt urgent attention include bleeding, low blood pressure and altered consciousness. Easy bleeding without injury, or a new rash, can point to a serious infection.

    CDC Yellow Book: post-travel evaluation of the ill traveler (written for clinicians) · Edition 2026, Apr. 23, 2025 · Checked 2026-10-24

  • Most acutely ill travellers seek care within a month of returning. Short-incubation illnesses usually show within about 2 weeks; hepatitis A, typhoid and malaria commonly appear 2 to 6 weeks after exposure; some infections, such as tuberculosis, can appear months or years later.

    CDC Yellow Book: post-travel evaluation of the ill traveler (written for clinicians) · Edition 2026, Apr. 23, 2025 · Checked 2026-10-24

Your travel history sheet

Fill in what applies and show it to your clinician. Saved on this device only.

Tick what applies

Checked 2026-10-24. The CDC after-travel page is dated October 2022 on the page itself.