The Many holidaymakers are showing solidarity with communities affected by Southeast Asia's Boxing Day tsunami by voting with their feet: going ahead with travel plans, visiting resorts in the region to support the tourist industry on which the local economy so heavily depends. But is it safe to go?

Be guided by practicalities rather than fear of disease. Begin by seeking advice from your tour operator, who will have plenty of local knowledge about conditions in resorts. What is the state of accommodation? How easy will it be to get around, and to have a good time? What facilities are unaffected? While the worst hit areas will undoubtedly be off limits, many resorts in the region are entirely intact. Consult the Foreign Office website for its latest assessment of physical safety and the general state of the infrastructure in the country you plan to visit.

If you choose to go, it makes sense to take more careful health precautions than usual. Follow vaccine recommendations carefully, and try to allow at least 2 weeks for them to reach full effect. For most countries, vaccination against hepatitis A, typhoid, tetanus, diphtheria and polio, would be essential. Vaccination against cholera (with Dukoral, a drinkable vaccine that also offers some protection from one of the commonest types of travellers¹ diarrhoea) and flu might also be considered; there are some additional options for longer term travellers as well, such as rabies, hepatitis B and Japanese encephalitis.

All of these diseases are present in the region anyway, at a low level; there have been no outbreaks as yet, but the general damage to the infrastructure makes the prospect more likely, and it is sensible to be protected.

Take careful advice on malaria prevention: flooding, followed by further heavy rain, has created conditions in which mosquitoes could easily thrive. Control measures are being stepped up but it is highly likely that numbers of cases of malaria, and also of dengue fever (a virus infection spread by mosquitoes) will rise.

The most likely disease risks are those spread by food and water, ranging from travellers¹ diarrhoea, to dysentery, cholera, giardia and parasitic infestations. Careful food and water hygiene precautions are essential. It makes sense to travel with water purification drops or tablets, rehydration solution, medication to control diarrhoea symptoms, and a course of antibiotics.

Aim to be entirely self-sufficient ­ take all the medicines and supplies you might need (and leave them behind at the end of your trip). In some places, it will be harder than usual to find basic medical supplies, or skilled emergency care, and it would be wrong to divert essential local services from the enormous task in hand.

Above all, put safety awareness and common sense first. We' ve had three patients in Southeast Asia who have needed medical care in the week since the crisis began: an asthmatic who left his inhaler at home; an air traveller who broke a rib when hit by luggage from an overhead locker, and a back-seat passenger, badly bruised in a car accident, who was not wearing his seatbelt.