Travellers are urged to think about what jabs they may need

They say, while many companies do tell travellers to get health advice about their destination, others do not.

The Health Protection Agency said holidaymakers should also be given advice on sexual health.

But a spokesman for the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) said members did offer advice if people were travelling to more exotic destinations.

If people are travelling to areas where there are health issues, they should contact a health advisor before they go Sean Tipton, ABTA

He said that included all areas outsides western Europe, North America and Australasia.

Up to 2,000 Britons die abroad each year, most of them from natural causes, according to figures from the HPA.

The agency's head of travel health, Dr Jane Jones said people had to think about their health where-ever they were travelling.

Two Irish travellers recently returned from the Algarve in Portugal infected with the West Nile virus, which is spread by mosquitoes.

Avoiding disease

Dr Jones told BBC News Online: "The basic message is to think about mosquitoes and insects when you're in tropical parts of the world, but also when you're in other parts of the world."

She added: "There is this problem about travellers booking holidays at the last minute.

"A very important role for the travel industry is to talk to people about the fact that they have to think about their health.

"Travellers shouldn't be told they need to 'take this' and 'do that' by travel advisors, , but they are in a very good position to remind people that they need to talk about their health to a specialist."

Dr Jones added: "People are more inclined to travel to more tropical places, and they are more likely to encounter diseases they wouldn't come across in the UK."

She highlighted the case of five people who had travelled with the same company to The Gambia. None had taken any malaria medication, and all had come back with the disease.

"That could have been avoided, if they had just thought about it," she added.

'Patronising'

Dr Jones said travel health encompassed many other areas apart from vaccinations and malaria protection - including sexual health.

Last week, researchers warned young holidaymakers were fuelling the rise of sexually transmitted infections in the UK by practising unsafe sex while on holiday.

But Sean Tipton, an ABTA spokesman, said: "Health experts have said they preferred us not to give health advice.

"What we do is say to our members, if people are travelling to areas where there are health issues, they should contact a health advisor before they go."

But he said giving out safe sex messages might be seen as "patronising" by travellers.

"It's something that's widely known, and has been clear for a number of years.