Resources
Online resources relevant to sport and exercise medicine
There is no point in re-inventing the wheel. If you need resources, make use of what is available – at least as a starting point. The links below will direct you to some useful resources.
Click to expand list- http://biology-pages.info
Kimball’s Biology Pages. This online biology textbook is a great place to start looking for information on any biology topic. It also has links to sites offering related materials.
- USDA Food and Nutrition Information Centre
An enormous number of resources on diverse topics
- Australian Institute of Sport Sports Science and Sports Medicine
Information on various topics.
- Sportsci.org
Sportscience website run by Will Hopkins. Enormous amount of information. Particularly useful on statistics and research methods, but lots more too.
- Statistics
All you need to know about statistics and a lot more.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Wide range of public health resources and statistics, including National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a continuous survey of health and diet in the U.S. This website provides links to NHANES documentation and summary data, ordering information, and online access to datasets.
- Sports medicine online
Various articles, news and reviews
- MDConsult
Online general medical resources
- Sports Trauma and Overuse Prevention
Sports injury prevention resources
- Intelihealth
Information on a wide range of health issues from Harvard Medical School
- Gatorade Sports Science Institute
Contains various resources - most are related to sports nutrition, but a wide range of other topics is also included. This is a commercial site, but is not overtly selling a product.
- Australian Institute of Sport
This contains a substantial number of sports medicine and other sports science resources.
- American Heart Association
The Healthy Lifestyle section has information on current (American) recommendations on exercise and diet as well as numerous other resources.
- US Surgeon General’s report on Physical Activity and Health
The summary provides key information, but the whole report is available and shows the evidence for the intimate link between nutrition, physical activity and health.
- World Health Organisation
Useful information on health policy issues
- International Obesity Taskforce
All you need to know about diet and obesity.
- US NIH National Institute on Aging
Resources on aging, including a wide range of health and related issues.
- US Census data
Useful information on demographic trends in the US
- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Wide range of public health resources and statistics, including National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a continuous survey of health and diet in the U.S.
- About sportsmedicine
Wide range of popular articles, news, etc
Some of the sites listed above are more relevant than others, but all will provide some useful information.
Some sites offer various resources, including PowerPoint presentations and video recordings of conferences and other resources.
- The Obesity Society
Various educational resources: most of these obviously relate to obesity, but there are presentations on metabolism and energy balance.
Many Universities make some of their teaching materials and other resources available online. The following are only a few examples:
- Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Wide range of resources including online lectures, podcasts, etc
- http://btc.montana.edu/olympics/nutrition/default.htm
Resources compiled by Patti Steinmuller at Montana State University-Bozeman.
- http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/mednav.html
Miscellaneous information on nutrition, physiology and sports medicine for endurance athletes
Online databases and search engines relevant to sport and exercise medicine
Databases and search engines that will find abstracts (and some full papers) include:
- BioMedLib
Biomedical publications search engine. Covers all of Medline
- PubMed
PubMed is a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Includes over 17 million citations from MEDLINE and other life science journals for biomedical articles back to the 1950s. PubMed includes links to full text articles and other related resources.
- Google Scholar
Search engine using all resources of Google. Remarkably effective.
- Science Direct
Offers more than a quarter of the world's scientific, medical and technical information online.
- BioMed Central
Publishes 250 peer-reviewed open access journals.
- World Health Organisation
Library and database of publications. Fully searchable.
- nutritionandfoodsciences.org
Formerly Nutritiongate. Abstracts database of over 500,000 abstracts, including material from serials, conference proceedings, theses, and reports.
- SPORTDiscus
Covers almost every sport-science publication there has ever been. If your institution doesn't have a subscription, access it on the Web for $US50 per month or $US10 per day, or purchase the CD-ROM version.
- Web of Science
From the Institute for Scientific Information. Has links to all articles citing a given article, and saves references directly into Endnote. Requires a subscription, and it doesn't index low-impact sport-science journals.
Online Journals relevant to sport and exercise medicine
Some Journals make some or all of their content freely available online, while others restrict access to paying subscribers. Some provide free access to papers when they are more than 12 months old. Free full journal content is available from:
- All Journals of the American Physiological Society
Fully searchable archive
- Journal of Applied Physiology
Fully searchable archive of published papers.
- Experimental Physiology
Fully searchable complete archive
- The Journal of Physiology
Fully searchable. All content (from 1878) except for last 12 months.
Most of the following Journals offer some access to all content, including a full index, but others require a subscription or payment per article. Free full contents are available for some, while abstracts only are available for others. Most offer fully searchable archives.
Click to expand list- American Heart Journal
- Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism
- Asian Journal of Sports Medicine
- The American Journal of Cardiology
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- The American Journal of Medicine
- The American Journal of Medicine and Sports
- The American Journal of Sports Medicine
- The Annals of Occupational Hygiene
- Appetite
- Biochemical and Molecular Medicine
- Body Image
- Bone
- Brain and Cognition
- British Journal of Nutrition
- British Journal of Sports Medicine
- The British Medical Journal
- Cardiovascular Research
- Clinica Chimica Acta
- Clinical Nutrition
- Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology
- Current Sports Medicine Reports
- e-SPEN, the European e-Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism
- Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology
- Gastroenterology
- Hormones and Behavior
- Human Movement Science
- Human Growth and Development
- International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical activity
- International Journal of Sports Medicine
- International Sportsmed Journal
- Journal of the American Dietetic Association
- The Journal of the American Medical Association
- Journal of Circadian Rhythms
- Journal of Free Radicals in Biology & Medicine
- Journal of Sports Science and Medicine
- Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport
- Journal of Thermal Biology
- Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology
- The Lancet
- Metabolism
- Nutrition
- Nutrition and Metabolism
- Obesity
- Obesity Research & Clinical Practice
- The Open Sports Medicine Journal
- Physician and Sportsmedicine
- Physiology & Behavior
- Psychology of Sport and Exercise
- Research in Sports Medicine
- Respiration Physiology
- Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports
- Science & Sports
- Sports Medicine Journal
- Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease
Professional organisations and associations in sports medicine, health and exercise science
Most associations are organised on a national basis, but some are global in their reach and membership. Membership of some of these organisations is open only to registered medical personnel, while others are open to allied professionals.
Some of these websites are not friendly towards non-members, but most of those listed below include substantial amounts of freely-available information.
Click to expand list- The American College of Sports Medicine
Promotes fitness, health and quality of life through research, education & practical applications of sports medicine
- The Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine (UK)
Home of the UK Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine. Various links and resources.
- International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine
News, educational resources, etc
- European Society of Sports Traumatology Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy
Various resources, links, meetings, etc
- Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)
News, resources, jobs and much more
- SCAN
Sports Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
- The Obesity Society
Wide range of resources available – many available to non-members.
- American Society for Nutrition
Publications include American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- American Heart Association
Includes a section on Healthy Lifestyles with various resources and a wide range of fact sheets.
- International Federation of Sports Medicine
FIMS is made up of sports medicine associations, as well as multinational groups and individual members.
- British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine
Various resources.
- South African Sports Medicine Association
News, articles and events. Some useful resources.
- Sports Medicine Australia
News, resources, events and advice.
- European Federation of Sports Medicine Associations
Pan-European organisation.
- The American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine
A wide variety of online resources, including AJSM
Looking for jobs
Many sites provide resources for those looking for a new job. These include some that just list jobs available, and others that provide guidance on issues like writing a letter of application, preparing an effective cv, etc. Some sites are specific to one country, but others are international. The following is not a complete listing, but may be helpful.
In addition to these sites, you should look at the web pages of the various professional associations listed elsewhere. On some of these sites, information on job opportunities is posted on the "members only" part of the site.
- http://www.sportsmedicinejobs.com/
Employment listings for US only
- http://www.bases.org.uk
British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences: lists jobs in sport and exercise sciences.
- http://www.careerjet.co.uk
Employment search engine for the UK. Searches multiple sites.
- http://www.exercisecareers.com
Jobs in exercise and sport, mainly based in USA.
- http://www.jobs.ac.uk
Caters for all positions (including studentships) within higher education in the UK.
- http://www.jobswithballs.com
Sport and leisure industry positions in the UK. Also industry related information, career advice, etc
- http://www.leisurejobs.com
Major health clubs and gyms in the UK.
- http://www.leisureopportunities.co.uk
Recruitment website for jobs in the leisure industry; including health and fitness, sport and spa.
- http://www.prospects.co.uk
Information on tips for job seeking, postgraduate options and careers open days.
- http://www.uksport.gov.uk
Advertises jobs in elite level sport in the UK. Also e-mail newsletter for the latest developments in elite sport.
Sports Medicine on Social Media Sites
- @SportsSafety
STOP Sports Injury Campaign
- @British Journal of Sports Medicine
Blog and Links to Relevant Articles
- American Medical Society of Sports Medicine
Daily Sports Medicine Tips, Cases, and Articles
- Medical News Today
Sports medicine news and features
Links to sporting organisations
Most of these websites do not have much information specifically on sports medicine, but some do. All have details of the organisation and the rules of the sport, and usually also a large amount of current news and history as well as video, images, etc. All will also have anti-doping information and other relevant links.
- International Olympic Committee
Home page of the IOC. Enormous resources, including photo and video archive. Look at the "Documents link" for access to many historical references.
- FIFA
Home page of FIFA, governing body of football. Everything you need to know about football, and a lot more too. Injury prevention information is available at http://f-marc.com/11plus/home/
The following links will take you to the websites of the International Federations of most of the major international sports. These are an excellent starting point for sport-specific information, including rules and regulations, current news, the history of the sport, etc. If we have missed any, let us know.
Click to expand list- Aquatics
- Archery
- Athletics
- Badminton
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Biathlon
- Bobsleigh
- Boxing
- Canoe/Kayak
- Curling
- Cycling
- Equestrian
- Fencing
- Football
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- Handball
- Hockey
- Ice Hockey
- Judo
- Karate
- Luge
- Modern Pentathlon
- Netball
- Orienteering
- Rowing
- Rugby
- Sailing
- Shooting
- Skating
- Skiing
- Softball
- Squash
- Table Tennis
- Taekwondo
- Tennis
- Triathlon
- Volleyball
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
Some National Federations also have useful websites. Among these are:
- http://www.thefa.com
"The home of English football"
- http://www.usaswimming.org/
US Swimming. Lots of great information.
Some countries also have national coaching associations that may have useful information on their websites.
- http://www.sportscoachuk.org/
sports coach UK is responsible for development of the UK Coaching System
Links to sports news
There are some excellent news websites covering sport, including most of the major television channels and newspapers. While some of these focus primarily on local (ie national) events, others take an international perspective: both may be useful, depending on what you are looking for.
Useful news sites include:
- BBC Sport
This has an international section in various languages as well as the domestic version. Even the domestic version provides a broad international coverage.
- International Sports Press Association
Extensive resources, including online magazine.
- ESPN
Claims to be the worldwide leader in sports, but the focus is on NFL, MLB, NBA, College Football, College Basketball scores. Little news from outside the US.
- Sports Illustrated
Also very American oriented – not only news on US sports like baseball, Nascar etc, but also "swimsuit" section!
- Daily Telegraph
Sports pages of the Daily Telegraph (UK). Good all round coverage.
- CBC Sports
Canadian sports news.
The national and international governing bodies of sport also provide a comprehensive news coverage, and often also have an archive of past news items that can be very useful when tracing the development of a story. You can access the International Federations of most of the major sports here. A large amount of current news and history as well as video, images, etc can be found on the following sites:
- IOC
Home page of the International Olympic Committee. Enormous resources, including photo and video archive. Look at the “Documents link” for access to many historical references.
- FIFA
Home page of FIFA, governing body of football. Everything you need to know about football
- IAAF
Home page of the IAAF, governing body of track and field athletics.
- FINA
FINA is the international governing body of swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming and open water swimming
Sports Medicine resources from the International Olympic Committee
The IOC Medical Commission has convened a number of Consensus Conferences to address key topics.
Consensus statements and related publications are available on the following topics:
- Health and fitness of young people through physical activity and sport
January 2011
- The use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in sports medicine
- Training the Elite Child Athlete
- Current status of body composition assessment in sport
- Non-contact ACL injury in the female athlete
February 2008
- Concussion in sport
2004
- The Female Athlete Triad
ACSM position stands on relevant topics
Follow the links below to download PDF’s of these position stand papers or to access online full text.
Click to expand list-
July 2011 Access here
Quantity and Quality of Exercise for Developing and Maintaining Cardiorespiratory, Musculoskeletal, and Neuromotor Fitness in Apparently Healthy Adults: Guidance for Prescribing Exercise
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December 2010 Access here
Exercise and Type 2 Diabetes
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July 2009 Access here
Exercise and Physical Activity for Older Adults
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March 2009 Access here
Nutrition and Athletic Performance
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March 2009 Access here
Progression Models in Resistance Training for Healthy Adults
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February 2009 Access here
Appropriate Physical Activity Intervention Strategies for Weight Loss and Prevention of Weight Regain for Adults
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October 2007 Access here
The Female Athlete Triad
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May 2007 Access here
Exercise and Acute Cardiovascular Events: Placing the Risks into Perspective
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March 2007 Access here
Exertional Heat Illness during Training and Competition
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February 2007 Access here
Exercise and Fluid Replacement.
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November 2006 Access here
Prevention of Cold Injuries during Exercise
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November 2004 Access here
Physical Activity & Bone Health
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March 2004 Access here
Exercise & Hypertension
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March 2002 Access here
Automated External Defibrillators in Health/Fitness Facilities
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June 1998 Access here
Joint Statement: Recommendations for Cardiovascular Screening, Staffing, and Emergency Policies at Health/Fitness Facilities
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June 1996 Access here
The Use of Blood Doping as an Ergogenic Aid
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October 1996 Access here
Weight Loss in Wrestlers
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March 1994 Access here
Exercise for Patients with Coronary Artery Disease
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May 1987 Access here
The Use of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids in Sports
Sports and other images
We all need images to illustrate presentations and other materials, but it can be hard to find the right image. Even when we can find the picture we need, we must be aware of the copyright laws that protect the rights of whoever owns the image. The sites listed below all provide access to a range of images: some are free but others are protected. You must be aware of this.
- Google Images
This is a good, searchable database of images on the web, but the site often does not indicate whether images found are subject to copyright restrictions or not.
The US Government makes a large number of high quality images on a wide range of topics freely available. Most of these images and graphics are available for use in the public domain, and they may be used and reproduced without permission or fee. However, some images may be protected by license. We strongly recommend you thoroughly read the disclaimers on each site before use.
- U.S. Government Graphics and Photos
Main site with links to all US Government image libraries. Vast resource which is fully searchable.
- US Public Health Image Library
Free images on many topics
- National Library of Medicine
Vast archive of images from the history of medicine
- "Visible Human" project
Complete, anatomically detailed, three-dimensional representations of the normal male and female human bodies. From the US National Library of Medicine.
The following are links to other image libraries from the United States Federal Government Photo Repositories. These cover a very wide range of topics, offering access to high quality images in many different categories. Many are irrelevant, but somewhere here you can probably find the image you need.
- National Park Service Digital Image Archives
- Fish and Wildlife Service Digital Library System
- Federal Emergency Management Administration Photo Library
- Bureau of Land Management Digital Photo Library
- National Aeronautics & Space Administration Video Gallery
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Photo Library
- Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Reading Room
- National Science Foundation Image Library
- Department of Defense Multimedia Library
- U.S. Mint Image Library
Many companies offer high quality professional images for sale, but the cost is often prohibitive. Many websites offer downloadable images at no cost, but the quality is variable. There are some exceptions, though, that make high quality images available at no cost. Remember that images may be subject to copyright and it is your responsibility to ensure that you have the relevant permissions.
The following sites offer free images for non-commercial users. Some are better than others and most of the sites will feature pop-ups and other annoying distractions.
- Hellas multimedia
Some photos and cartoons
- Photobucket
Amateur photos of variable quality: sports and other categories
- Freefoto.com
Some useful images.
Anti-Doping and supplement contamination issues
Anyone working with athletes who are liable to testing for prohibited substances under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code must be aware of the possibility that some of the athletes they work with are using prohibited substances. In some cases, this may be a momentary aberration, but in others it can be a sophisticated and systematic doping program. There are also potential problems arising from the inadvertent use of dietary supplements that contain prohibited substances that are not listed on the product label. Strict liability means that ignorance is not an acceptable excuse.
To access the WADA home page, with extensive resources, click here.
To see a copy of the current WADA Prohibited list, click here.
The following websites contain much useful additional material:
- World Anti-Doping Agency
Essential site for the definitive list of prohibited substances and other resources.
- US Anti-Doping Agency
Many useful resources for athletes and professionals, including 32 page booklet on nutrition for athletes.
- UK Anti-Doping
Website of the UK Sport Education Program for Drug-Free Sport. Extensive range of resources
- Australian Institute of Sport
This contains a substantial number of sports nutrition and other sports science resources.
- Dutch Anti-Doping Authority
Many excellent resources, including a database of low risk supplements.
- German Anti-Doping Agency
Includes the "Cologne List" of supplements with “minimum doping risk” as well as many other resources.
The best place to direct athletes to is usually the athlete's national anti-doping agency. Many already have information on their websites about supplements.
Some examples in addition to those listed above are:
- Anti-Doping Norway
- Australian Sports Drug Agency
- Bundesamt für Sport und Fachkommission für Dopingbekämpfung (Swiss)
- Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
- Japan Anti-Doping Agency
- Netherlands Centre for Doping Affairs
- Drug Free Sport New Zealand
- South African Institute for Drug Free Sport
Numerous published reports have shown that some otherwise harmless dietary supplements contain steroids and stimulants, perhaps as a result of cross-contamination in the manufacturing, processing and distribution processes. There is also evidence of deliberate adulteration to enhance the efficacy of products that would otherwise be ineffective. Some reports suggest that as many as 15-20% of supplements on sale in some sports nutrition outlets may contain prohibited steroids.
Several organisations are attempting to find a solution to this problem, and those who advise athletes on nutrition must be aware of the need to find a constructive solution. Telling athletes not to use supplements does not work: they will just ask someone else.
See the Informed Sport website for some discussion of these issues.
Information on dietary supplements
The US FDA Web Pages are usually a good starting point for dietary supplement information. Several different parts of the site contain relevant information, including the following:
- Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Part of the US Food and Drugs Administration
- Dietary Supplements
Consumer information, including alerts and product warnings
- Food Labelling and Nutrition
Overview of regulations
- Qualified Health Claims
Various resources relating to allowable health claims for food products
Other Federal Government Links:
- Federal Trade Commission
- Office of Dietary Supplements, NIH
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
- USDA Food and Nutrition Service
- National Academy of Sciences
The following websites are also good sources of information:
- National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the US National Institutes of Health
US Government site with enormous amount of information
- Consumerlab
Provides independent testing results online about vitamins, supplements, and nutrition products to consumers and healthcare providers
- Informed Sport
Commercial quality assurance programme for sports nutrition products, suppliers to the sports nutrition industry, and supplement manufacturing facilities
Information on legislation can be found at:
- EFSA
The European Food Safety Authority. Large amount of supporting information.
- DSHEA
The 1994 Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act of 1994
- Harvard assignment
A review of US supplements legislation including the 1994 DSHEA and subsequent developments
Relevant industry or commercial websites include the following:
- Council for Responsible Nutrition
Supplements industry trade organisation. Information on legislation issues, but also other fact sheets and diverse information
- http://www.supplementwatch.com/
Supplement watch – wide range of information on supplements that are commercially available
- Natural Products Foundation
Another industry-sponsored site
- American Botanicals Council
A wide range of resources on herbals and botanicals
- Nutros.com
An interesting commercial site for information on supplements.
Information for travelling athletes and teams (and travelling doctors too!)
International travel for training and competition is part of the normal life of many athletes. Travel is rewarding, but brings some challenges. Managing these challenges is essential to maximise the rewards and minimise the risks.
General Travel advice
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the British Government provides extensive advice on a very wide range of topics for most destinations around the world. The site is updated daily and includes terrorist warnings, health and safety issues, money, etc and even includes a specific section on travel for sporting events.
Weather and environmental conditions at destination
There are many excellent sites providing both short and long term weather forecasts as well as weather histories for most cities in the world. Some of these will provide average weather conditions for any date of the year as well as the historical extremes.
- http://www.wunderground.com/
World weather forecasts and history, plus environmental information and much more
Travel fatigue and jet lag
Jet lag occurs when the body clock is disrupted by crossing a number of time zones in a short space of time. The symptoms can include fatigue, disorientation and an inability to sleep.
For a recent review paper on jet lag and sport published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, click here.
Environmental challenges
Competitions often take place at environmental extremes, and athletes need to be aware of issues related to competitions in the heat, cold or at altitude. The following sites offer some useful advice and resources.
- Zunis Foundation
The stated goal of the Zunis Foundation is to make sports safer and more enjoyable, and the Zunis Foundation supports research into sports-related health issues, with a focus is on exercise-related heat illness, with special emphasis on studies of weather patterns which may promote illness. Extensive resources on this site, but a somewhat odd mixture of information. You could spend days browsing here.
- BUPA
Information and advice about altitude sickness from BUPA
For a review on acute mountain sickness from the Journal of Travel Medicine, click here.
Health issues
Anyone planning international travel should be fully informed about the potential health hazards of the countries they are travelling to and learn how to minimise any risk to health. This is especially true for athletes and teams who travel for training and competition – minor infectious illnesses can seriously disrupt a training camp and prevent participation in competitions. Forward planning, appropriate preventive measures and careful precautions are essential to reduce the risks.
- http://www.who.int/ith/en/
World Health Organisation report that provides information on the main health risks for travellers.
- UK Government travel advice
Regularly updated alerts on disease outbreaks all over the world, together with advice for travellers about staying safe.
- http://masta-travel-health.com
Commercial site offering (for a small fee) customised health travel advice.
- CDC Travellers’ Health
Website of the US Centers for Disease Control. Enormous resources as you would expect from the US Govt, including travel alerts, travel-related diseases, country-specific advice, etc.
The Journal of Travel Medicine offers much useful information. Full content from 1994 is free.