cyclospora parasite<\/a>, which was passed along in lettuce.<\/p>\nThere are lots of things that individuals can do to mitigate the risk of foodborne parasites.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t buy shredded lettuce,\u201d cautioned Dr. Zink. \u201cLocal farms and farmers markets are great.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a head of lettuce, oftentimes it\u2019s the top layer that\u2019s most at risk for contamination. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo wash your hands and peel that top layer off like an orange,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
As a public health professional, Dr. Zink pays close attention to the data regarding cyclospora.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere always are outbreaks in the spring and summer,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Although there are more people coming down with symptoms this year (including \u201cexplosive diarrhea\u201d), so far there has not been a corresponding surge in hospital admissions.<\/p>\n
For travelers, health-related concerns are just one element that can interfere or disrupt your travel plans. <\/p>\n
A host of other factors can trip up travelers, including falling on a backcountry trail, having a heart attack or a traffic accident.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have more fear of trauma than I do of infection,\u201d confessed Dr. Zink. \u201cA bus wreck in India is worse than in L.A.\u201d<\/p>\n
At her post in the emergency room, Dr. Zink talks about the \u201cgolden hour\u201d that first responders have to treat those wounded in an accident. <\/p>\n
That concern for quick attention during the golden hour is one reason Dr. Zink buys emergency air evacuation insurance in Alaska. <\/p>\n
Not just in Alaska, either. When she and her family climbed Aconcagua, the tallest peak in South America, she bought a similar policy. \u201cWe were traveling with the kids,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Purchasing travel insurance is important. \u201cBut I taper my insurance to risk,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I\u2019m traveling to the Lower 48 or to Europe, I probably won\u2019t buy insurance,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Dr. Zink points to European countries and the U.S. as systems that prioritize health.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more you\u2019re in systems that prioritize health, the safer you are,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
We were seated at a window table at Vagabond Blues in Palmer. She lifted her tea up and said, \u201cThat\u2019s why I can drink this milk without fear of tuberculosis \u2014 and it\u2019s why you can drink the tap water.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here in the U.S., it\u2019s those public health systems that helped eliminate malaria and foodborne illnesses.<\/p>\n
Before she was a physician, Dr. Zink was an adventurer \u2014 and a risk-taker.<\/p>\n
Just after college, she earned a fellowship to study the impact of tourism on culture and environment in Nepal, Antarctica and Botswana. <\/p>\n
During that year, she started in Nepal, then went to Tibet and on to Chile, Argentina and Antarctica. From there she traveled to Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat year abroad is what led me to medicine,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s one reason why, in the face of many travel-related risks, she emphasizes:<\/p>\n
\u201cLife is meant to be lived,\u201d she said. \u201cLive large and do the things you want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
That said, as all of us get older, there are steps you can take to help first responders.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarry a medication list,\u201d said Dr. Zink. <\/p>\n
There are other nuts-and-bolts moves that can help travelers stay well on the road:<\/p>\n
1. Stay hydrated. \u201cI get a water bottle with a straw and a filter,\u201d said Dr. Zink. \u201cSometimes I\u2019ll bring a portable filter and fill up several water bottles in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
2. Beware of the sun. \u201cI buy a sun shirt with a hoodie to protect from the sun,\u201d said Dr. Zink. \u201cIt\u2019s light and I can use it as an extra layer. And remember that altitude makes a difference with the sun.\u201d <\/p>\n
3. Use compression socks and walk around on long flights to minimize swelling in your feet. <\/p>\n
Back in the emergency room, she sees patients who confess they wish they would have done something \u2014 but now they\u2019re too sick to do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see it all the time,\u201d said Dr. Zink. \u201cThe regrets from not taking risks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Zink and her family are planning a trip to Nepal. Although she\u2019s been there twice, the family finally will see where she started her journey to her vocation as a physician … and a traveler.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Travel professionals work hard to make sure their trains, planes and cruise ships operate on time, without interruption.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":785448,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[334182,334183,306492,97],"class_list":["post-785447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-alaska-department-of-health-and-soical-services","tag-anne-zink","tag-chief-medical-officer","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/JSRHFIXLB5HCTPYZW6QKBORFDA.JPG\")
Dr. Anne Zink, photographed in April 2024. (Marc Lester \/ ADN archive) <\/p>\n