Due in part to its dryness and relative isolation, your chances of getting seriously ill with a virus or other infectious disease in Iran are fairly small. The most common reason for travellers needing medical help is as a result of accidents. If you are unfortunate enough to need a hospital, Iran is home to some of the best in the Middle East.
In remoter areas, medical facilities are more basic. Find out in advance if your insurance plan will make payments directly to providers or reimburse you later for overseas health costs, because banking sanctions mean it will be very difficult for insurers to pay doctors direct in Iran. Travel insurance usually covers emergency dental treatment. Not all insurance covers emergency aeromedical evacuation home or to a hospital in a major city, which may be the only way to get medical attention for a serious emergency.
The World Health Organization recommends that all travellers regardless of the region they are travelling in should be covered for diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella and polio, as well as hepatitis B. While making preparations to travel, take the opportunity to ensure that all of your routine vaccination cover is complete. However, in Iran outbreaks are rare.
World Health Organization www. MD Travel Health www. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www. There are few, if any, reciprocal medical arrangements between Iran and other countries so be prepared to pay for all your medical and dental treatment. The good news is that costs are negligible. Medical care is not always readily available outside major cities. Medicine, and even sterile dressings or intravenous fluids, may need to be bought from a local pharmacy, which are usually very well stocked.
Nursing care may be limited or rudimentary as this is something families and friends are expected to provide. Standards of dental care are variable and there is an increased risk of hepatitis B transmission via poorly sterilised equipment. Travel insurance usually only covers emergency dental treatment. The following infectious diseases are present in Iran, but reports of travellers being infected are extremely rare. Diphtheria is spread through close respiratory contact. It causes a high temperature and severe sore throat and, sometimes, a closure of the throat requiring a tracheotomy to prevent suffocation.
