Australia, New Zealand and the Antarctic. In Australia the mainland has tropical monsoon forests in the north and east, dry tropical forests, savanna and deserts in the center, and Mediterranean scrub and subtropical forests in the south. New Zealand has a temperate climate with the North Island characterized by subtropical forests and the South Island by steppe vegetation and hardwood forests.

International travelers to Australia and New Zealand will, in general, not be subjected to the hazards of communicable diseases to an extent greater than that found in their own country.

Arthropod-borne diseases (mosquito-borne epidemic polyarthritis and viral encephalitis) may occur in some rural areas of Australia. Occasional outbreaks of dengue have occurred in northern Australia in recent years.

Other hazards. Coelenterates (corals and jellyfish) may prove a hazard to the sea-bather, and heat is a hazard in the northern and central parts of Australia.

Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia (American Samoa, Cook Islands, Easter Island, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wake Island [U.S.] and the Wallis and Futuna Islands). The area covers an enormous expanse of ocean with the larger, mountainous, tropical and monsoon rainforest-covered islands of the west giving way to the smaller, originally volcanic peaks and coral islands of the east.

Arthropod-borne diseases occur in the majority of the islands. Malaria is endemic in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Filariais is widespread but its prevalence varies. Mite-borne typhus has been reported from Papua New Guinea. Dengue fever, including its hemorrhagic form, can occur in epidemics in most islands.

Foodborne and waterborne diseases such as the diarrheal diseases, typhoid fever and helminthic infections are commonly reported. Biointoxication may occur from raw or cooked fish and shellfish. Hepatitis A occurs in this area.

Other diseases. Hepatitis B is endemic. No cases of poliomyelitis have been reported from any of these islands for more than three years. Trachoma occurs in parts of Melanesia.

Hazards to bathers are coelenterates, poisonous fish, and sea snakes.