Austria Embassy: -- 202-895-6767 Vienna GMT +1 hrs
Entry Requirements:
Visa: A visa is not required for tourist/business stays up to three months.
HIV Test: Testing is required of foreign workers applying for residence permits.
Vaccinations: None required.
Telephone Country Code: 43

Embassies/Consulates: U.S. Embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16 in the Ninth District; Tel: 43-1-31-339; Web: www.usembassy-vienna.at)
Consulates: Marriott Building, on the fourth floor of Gartenbaupromenade 2, in the First District; Tel: 43-1-31-339). Consulate: Alter Markt 1, Salzburg; Tel: 43-662-84-87-76)
Canadian Embassy: Laurenzenberg 2, Vienna; Tel: 43-1-531-38-3000; Fax: 43-1-531-38-3905; E-mail: vienn@dfait-maeci.gc.ca, Web: www.kanada.at

Hospitals / Doctors:
Vienna Municipal General Hospital (2,460 beds); major teaching facility; all specialties.
Landeskrankenhaus Salzburg (1300-beds); Müllner Hauptstraße 48, Salzburg; Major referral center with all specialties; 24-hour emergency services.
For a physician referral in Vienna, contact the American Medical Society of Vienna, Tel: (1) 424-568, or the Doctor’s Board of Vienna-Service Department for Foreign Patients, Weihburggasse 10–12, Vienna, Tel. (1) 40-144. The Doctor’s Board also provides 24-hour physician referral throughout Austria. English spoken.
Air Ambulance: Tyrolean Air Ambulance (Innsbruck). Tel: (0) 512-22422
AT&T Dial: 0800-200-288 -- -- MCI Dial: 022-903-012

Accidents & Medical Insurance:
Accidents and injuries are the leading cause of death among travelers under the age of 55 and are most often caused by motor vehicle and motorcycle crashes; drownings, aircraft crashes, homicides, and burns are lesser causes.
Heart attacks cause most fatalities in older travelers.
Infections cause only 1% of fatalities in overseas travelers, but, overall, infections are the most common cause of travel-related illness.
MEDICAL INSURANCE: Travelers are advised to obtain, prior to departure, supplemental travel health insurance with specific overseas coverage. The policy should provide for direct payment to the overseas hospital and/or physician at the time of service and include a medical evacuation benefit. The policy should also provide 24-hour hotline access to a multilingual assistance center that can help arrange and monitor delivery of medical care and determine if medevac or air ambulance services are required.

Food & Water Safety: Milk is pasteurised and dairy products are safe for consumption. Local meat, poultry, seafood, fruit and vegetables are considered safe.

Hepatitis: As a general precaution, the hepatitis A vaccine is recommended for all nonimmune travelers. The hepatitis B carrier rate in the general population is less than 1%. Hepatitis B vaccination is not recommended for tourist travelers. Vaccination against hepatitis B should be considered for stays over 3 months and by short-term travelers desiring maximum protection. Travelers should be aware that hepatitis B can be transmitted by unsafe sex and the use of contaminated needles and syringes.

Influenza: Influenza is transmitted from November through March. The flu vaccine is recommended for all travelers over age 50; all travelers with chronic disease or a weakened immune system; travelers of any age wishing to decrease the risk of this illness; pregnant women after the first trimester.

Lyme Disease: Ticks transmitting Lyme disease are found primarily in forested areas at elevations below 1,000 meters, especially in the Danube River basin of eastern Austria. Travelers are advised to take measures to prevent tick bites during the transmission season, March through September. The vaccine available in the US (Lymerix) does not protect against the strain of Lyme disease found in Europe.

Other Diseases/Hazards: Echinococcosis (low risk), leptospirosis (associated to exposure to livestock or swimming in lakes/streams), Tahyna virus fever, trichinosis (from eating wild boar), and tularemia (reported sporadically in outdoorsmen after contact with the meat of killed game).

Rabies: No human cases have been reported recently, but animal rabies occurs in foxes.

Swimmer’s Itch: Cercarial dermatitis (“swimmer’s itch”) occurs during hot, dry summer months. The cercaria that penetrate swimmer’s skin may be found in warm-water lakes harboring snails.

Tick-Borne Encephalitis (TBE): This is a viral tick-transmitted disease present in the lowland forests of eastern and southeastern Austria, particularly in the areas around Klagenfurt, Graz, Wiener Neustadt, and Linz, as well in the Danube River valley west of Vienna. There is no apparent risk in Tyrol and Voralberg Provinces. Travelers to risk areas should take measures to prevent tick bites. The TBE vaccine (available in Canada and Europe), is recommended only for people at significant risk of exposure to tick-bites, for example, campers and hikers on extended trips, or forestry workers.