Travel tips

Mosquitoes can transmit various diseases, such as malaria, dengue, zika virus, yellow fever, chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis and West Nile virus. Unfortunately, for some of these diseases, no medicine exists yet. There are different types of mosquitoes that can be active both at night and during the day. Are you going on a business trip? If so, make sure you’re well prepared and protect yourself against mosquito bites by taking various precautions and seeking personalised advice by booking an appointment with us through your employer. 

Here are some tips:

• Keep the area you are in mosquito-free by using an insecticide-treated mosquito net or insect screen on windows.
• Keep windows closed as much as possible and turn on the air conditioning when you can.
• Wear covering clothes as much as possible: long sleeves, long trousers, socks, and closed shoes to cover your skin.

• Wear loose-fitting, light clothing: mosquitoes can bite through thin trousers and socks. The looser your clothing, the harder it is for mosquitoes to get close to your skin. And the less body heat you give off, the less attractive you are to mosquitoes.

• Use mosquito repellent with DEET as directed:
  • Apply enough repellent on the exposed parts of the skin.
  • Use products with a DEET percentage of 30-50%. Young children and pregnant women are advised to use DEET with a percentage of less than 30%.
  • DEET up to 30% can be applied a maximum of 4 times a day. DEET 30-40% can be applied a maximum of 3 times a day and DEET 40-50% can be applied a maximum of 2 times a day.
  • If you use both sunscreen and DEET: first apply sunscreen. Then apply DEET after half an hour to an hour.