LEWISTON – A physician here who specializes in travel medicine says people would be wise to heed a World Health Organization advisory and avoid travel to Toronto and other places suffering an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

If a trip can’t be put off, Dr. Jonathan Torres said travelers should carry with them a thermometer, a surgical mask, protective gloves and an alcohol-based hand wash. People should also avoid visiting hospitals where SARS patients might be under treatment, he said, and stay away from places where crowds congregate, such as sports stadiums and shopping centers.

“People don’t need to wear the mask in public,” he noted, “but they should have it available in case someone they’re traveling with exhibits SARS symptoms.”

The thermometer could help pinpoint one symptom: A temperature exceeding 100 degrees.

Gloves, along with hand washing, are preventive measures, he explained, adding that frequent hand-washing is highly recommended.

Torres is the medical director of WorkMed’s Travel Clinic in the Trolley Medical Building. The clinic opened in 1998, aimed at meeting the medical needs of people doing missionary work in Haiti on behalf of the Sisters of Charity. It soon expanded its patient list to assist travelers, college students planning to study abroad and business travelers, Torres said.

Its focus is on illness prevention. Most often, he said, the clinic offers people medical advice, along with vaccinations to prevent illnesses such as yellow fever known to exist in distant destinations. He can also provide travelers with prescriptions and treatment regimes to combat anything from malaria to diarrhea, a common affliction among travelers to places where good drinking water can be hard to obtain.

Sometimes, countries on a traveler’s itinerary require prior immunization and records to prove a visitor has had them.

Lately, though, Torres has been fielding questions about SARS.

“I consult the (Centers for Disease Control) Web site” as a primary source of information to pass along to patients traveling in the United States, Torres said, and the WHO Web site to check on its most recent foreign advisories.

On Friday, he said, WHO upgraded its notice on travel to Toronto from an alert to an advisory. Alert status, he explained, suggests that travelers take precautions against SARS exposure. The advisory, he said, tells people to avoid Ontario’s largest city.

Also on the places to avoid list: China, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Torres said that while the Twin Cities enjoy a large Franco population, many with strong ties to Quebec, people here shouldn’t necessarily curtail travel plans to that province simply because it’s next door to Ontario. They should follow precautions, however, he said. “That’s just being a wise traveler.”

Being wise also means keeping regular immunizations current, he said, and checking in with a physician in plenty of time before a trip is to start. Sometimes vaccinations against certain diseases require getting a series of inoculations over a period of a month, he said.

Travelers should make certain they’re protected against various forms of hepatitis, he noted, as well as diseases that could be common to a particular destination.

He also suggested people use bottled water where it’s available. Bacteria typically found in water elsewhere is often the leading cause of diarrhea, one of the more common maladies that can ruin a vacation.

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