Europe

Standards of health care are below that of the UK. You should bring essential personal medications, as the availability of local supplies cannot be guaranteed.

Health screening at border checkpoints have been increased following an outbreak of the A(H1N1) virus in neighbouring Ukraine. This may cause delays at border crossings.

Autumn school holidays for  all schools in Minsk, Maladzyechna, Minsk region, Zhlobin, Homyel region, Babruysk, Mahilyow region and a number of cities in the Brest region have been extended by a week following an increase in the incidence of flu-like illnesses. More than 65,000  residents had flu and other acute respiratory diseases in the last two weeks of October, and the health authorities said that 958 patients with flu-like symptoms were receiving hospital treatment on October 30.

You should take care to avoid certain foodstuffs (primarily local dairy produce, forest mushrooms and fruits of the forest), which can carry high levels of radiation as a result of contamination from the Chernobyl disaster. You should not drink village well water as it is usually heavily contaminated with impurities.  In cities, you should first boil, then filter tap water before drinking. We recommend that you buy bottled water. This is widely available in shops.

The risk of radioactive contamination from the 1986 accident at Chernobyl in Ukraine is insignificant, other than within the exclusion zone immediately around the Chernobyl site, which includes the area close to the border with Ukraine in the south east of Belarus.  No special precautions are necessary. You may find that access to this part of the country can be limited.

In the 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic the UNAIDS/WHO Working Group estimated that around 13,000 adults aged 15 or over in Belarus were living with HIV; the prevalence rate was estimated at around 0.2% of the adult population. This compares to the prevalence rate in adults in the UK of around 0.2%. You should exercise normal precautions to avoid exposure to HIV/AIDS. For more general information on how to do this see HIV and AIDS.

You should seek medical advice before travelling to Belarus and ensure that all appropriate vaccinations are up to date. For further information on vaccination requirements, health outbreaks and general disease protection and prevention you should visit the websites of NaTHNaC and NHS Scotland's Fit For Travel or call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.

For more general health information see travel health.

  

Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

There have been no reported cases of Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) in Belarus during the current series of outbreaks. But the World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed cases elsewhere in the region.

See Avian and Pandemic Flu for more details.