Germany Embassy: 202-298-4360 Berlin GMT +1 hrs

Entry Requirements:
A valid passport is required.
HIV Test: Testing is required for those applying for residence permits (Bavaria only).
Vaccinations: None required.
Telephone Country Code: 49

Embassies/Consulates: U.S. Embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, Berlin. Tel: 30-238-5174, 8305.
Consulates: Willi-Becker-Allee 10, Duesseldorf. Tel: 49-211-788-8927; Fax: 211-788-8938; Siesmayerstrasse 21, Frankfurt. Tel: 69-75350; Fax: 49-69-7535-2304; Alsterufer 27/28, Hamburg. Tel: 40-4117-1351; Fax: 49-40-44-30-04); Wilhelm-Seyfferth-Strasse 4, Leipzig Tel: 341-213-8418; Fax: 341-21384-17; Koeniginstrasse 5, Munich. Tel: 89-288-8722; Fax: 49-89-280-9998.
Canadian Embassy: Internationales Handelszentrum Building, Friedrichstrasse 95, Berlin. Tel: 30-20-31-20; Fax: 30-20-31-24-57; E-mail: brlin-cs@dfait-maeci.gc.ca; Web: www.canada.de.

Hospitals / Doctors:
Universitatklinik, Bonn (1,774 beds); private hospital, all specialties.
Universitatklinik, Cologne; all specialties.
Klinikum Berlin-Buch; Wiltbergstrasse 50, Berlin-Buch.
Dr. Manfred Peters (internal medicine, tropical medicine); Wandsbeker Markstr. 73, Hamburg; Tel. (40) 652-6000.
AT&T Dial: 0130-0010 -- -- MCI Dial: 0130-0012

Current Advisories & Health Risks:
AIDS/HIV: Most cases are reported from the western regions. Primary risk groups include homosexual males and intravenous drug users.

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. Important safety rules to follow are 1) Do not drive at night, 2) Do not rent a motorcycle, moped, bicycle, or motorbike, even if you are experienced, and 3) Don't swim alone, at night, or if intoxicated.
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.

Hepatitis: The incidence of hepatitis A in western Germany is among the lowest in Europe. Nonimmune travelers to the eastern regions, however, should consider hepatitis A vaccine. Hepatitis E possibly occurs. The hepatitis B carrier rate in the general population is estimated at less than 1%. 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: This disease is reported countrywide, but most cases are reported in the south, primarily in Bavaria, mostly in the spring and summer. Up to 34% of ticks in some endemic areas are infected. The ticks that transmit Lyme disease are found in brushy, wooded areas and broadleaf (mostly oak) forests under 1,000 meters elevation. Travelers are advised to take measures to prevent tick bites. The vaccine previously available in the US (Lymerix) does not protect against the strain of Lyme borreliosis found in Europe.

Other Diseases/Hazards: Brucellosis, boutonneuse fever (reported from a region SE of Frankfurt in the 1980s), hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (transmitted by infective rodent excreta; 14 cases reported in an outbreak in soldiers in 1989), echinococcosis (risk greatest in Swabbian uplands of central Wurttemberg State), legionellosis, leptospirosis (risk may be elevated in the south) and Q fever (outbreak reported in 1996 in Rollshausen and vicinity; some cases had breathed infectious aerosols when walking near sheep farms that had infected animals).

Rabies: No human cases have been officially reported for several years. Wild foxes are the primary reservoir of the disease. Animal rabies has been declining in the west, but there is potential risk of transmission to humans, especially in the eastern regions. Travelers should seek immediate medical evaluation and treatment of any wild animal bite.

Tick-Borne Encephalitis (TBE): Most cases reported from the southern lowland forested and wooded areas of Bayern and Baden-Wurttemburg. Cases are reported from Baden-Wurttemburg (Black forest, upper Rhine valley) region. The valleys of Kinzig, Elz, and Dreisam as well as the regions around Freiburg and Pforzheim are endemic areas. Travelers to these areas should take extra measures to prevent tick bites. TBE vaccine (available in Canada and Europe) is recommended for people at high risk of exposure to ticks (e.g., forestry workers, campers with extensive time outdoors). Routine vaccination for TBE is not recommended for travelers to Germany.