{"id":83435,"date":"2020-09-30T13:21:48","date_gmt":"2020-09-30T13:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.expatinfodesk.com\/?page_id=83435"},"modified":"2023-06-20T07:04:54","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T07:04:54","slug":"medical-facilities-health-insurance","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.expatinfodesk.com\/destinations\/brussels\/medical-facilities\/typical-health-risks\/","title":{"rendered":"Medical facilities \/ Health insurance in Brussels"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row type=&#8221;container&#8221; padding_top=&#8221;&#8221; padding_bottom=&#8221;&#8221; el_class=&#8221;three-top-tips&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1599875304748{margin-left: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;border-right-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<div class=\"page-header\" style=\"margin-top: 0px;\">\n<h2>Health Risks Guide<\/h2>\n<p>Only one vaccine is legally mandated by Belgian law and that is for polio. However, in conjunction with your doctor&#8217;s recommendations, standard vaccinations for babies will normally be carried out at 2 months of age, three months, four months, 12 months and 15 months. Other vaccines recommended are those such as measles\/mumps\/rubella (MMR), influenza, chickenpox (or varicella), Diptheria\/pertussis\/tetanus (DPT), to name the most common.<\/p>\n<p>Though not posing a major health risk, possible diseases\/infections to look out for can include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tick-borne Encephalitis (TBE) &#8211; May occur in the warmer month.<\/li>\n<li>Measles &#8211; Some people consider the vaccine more deadly than the disease, but there is a small occurrence of outbreaks in Europe, as witnessed in 2007.<\/li>\n<li>Hepatitis A &#8211; Not common but is a possibility.<\/li>\n<li>H5N1 (Avian Flu) &#8211; Again, not common but Europe is always on the lookout for possible outbreaks.<\/li>\n<li>Swine Flu &#8211; Belgium had a few reported cases in 2007\/8, but it did not become a major issue, with emergency services have been well prepared to deal with it and sending constant updates and advisories.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Possibly the most important item to remember when traveling is to ensure you have enough of any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.expatinfodesk.com\/destinations\/brussels\/medical-facilities\/doctors-and-hospital\/\">prescription medications you may need<\/a>. Though it may be possible to get a prescription in Belgium, remember not all medications where you come from will necessarily be approved or available.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243; el_class=&#8221;city-side-bar&#8221;][vc_row_inner el_class=&#8221;sidebar-section-one&#8221;][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;Top Tips&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h4|font_size:24|text_align:left|color:%23ffffff&#8221; google_fonts=&#8221;font_family:Open%20Sans%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C600%2C600italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C800%2C800italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal&#8221;][vc_separator color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; type=&#8221;full_width&#8221; thickness=&#8221;1&#8243; up=&#8221;&#8221; down=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<table class=\"table table-condensed sidebar-section-one-table\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"number\">01<\/td>\n<td>Learn French or Dutch, especially if you are coming long-term. If you have children this is even more important and will assist them to integrate.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"number\">02<\/td>\n<td>Learn the Belgian rules of the road as they are a little different to other places and can be complicated.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"number\">03<\/td>\n<td>Join expat groups by all means but remember that Belgians do exist too, and many expats make the mistake of never getting to know them properly.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"number\">04<\/td>\n<td>Make the most of summer. Winters are wet, cold and gloomy and involve largely indoor activities.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"number\">05<\/td>\n<td>Bring as many personal documents as possible (birth, driving, examination certificates), they will help in many different bureaucratic situations.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner el_class=&#8221;sidebar-section-two&#8221;][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;Useful links&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h4|font_size:24|text_align:left&#8221; google_fonts=&#8221;font_family:Open%20Sans%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C600%2C600italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C800%2C800italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal&#8221; el_class=&#8221;useful-links&#8221;][vc_separator color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; type=&#8221;full_width&#8221; thickness=&#8221;1&#8243; up=&#8221;&#8221; down=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column_text el_class=&#8221;useful-links&#8221;]<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"http:\/\/www.ackroyd.be\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ackroyd.be\/\">http:\/\/www.ackroyd.be<\/a><br \/>\nEnglish-language magazines aimed at the expatriate community including The Bulletin, The Newcomer and The Expatriate Directory.<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"http:\/\/www.brusselslife.be\" href=\"http:\/\/www.brusselslife.be\/\">http:\/\/www.brusselslife.be<\/a><br \/>\nInformation website in both English and French.<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"http:\/\/www.resto.be\" href=\"http:\/\/www.resto.be\/\">http:\/\/www.resto.be<\/a><br \/>\nA useful search engine to find a table among 16203 restaurants listed.<\/li>\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner el_class=&#8221;sidebar-section-three&#8221;][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;Interesting fact&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h4|font_size:24|text_align:left|color:%23333333&#8243; google_fonts=&#8221;font_family:Open%20Sans%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C600%2C600italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C800%2C800italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal&#8221;][vc_separator color=&#8221;#eeeeee&#8221; type=&#8221;full_width&#8221; thickness=&#8221;1&#8243; up=&#8221;&#8221; down=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<table class=\"table table-condensed sidebar-section-three-table\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<div class=\"fa fa-snowflake-o\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>French, German and Dutch are the three official languages of Belgium.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=&#8221;container&#8221; padding_top=&#8221;&#8221; padding_bottom=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row type=&#8221;container&#8221; padding_top=&#8221;&#8221; padding_bottom=&#8221;&#8221; el_class=&#8221;three-top-tips&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1599875304748{margin-left: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;border-right-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;][vc_column_text] Health Risks Guide Only one vaccine is legally mandated by Belgian law and that is for polio. However, in conjunction with your doctor&#8217;s recommendations, standard vaccinations for babies will normally be carried out at 2 months of age, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":83054,"parent":83042,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-brussels.php","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-83435","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Guide for Expats to the Health Risks in Brussels | Expat Info Desk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A guide for Expats and Global Nomads to the health risks present in Brussels, Belgium. 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