From an article by Ron Scherer in today’s Christian Science Monitor:

You have booked tickets for the Paris International Photo Fair or perhaps your son is already in Berlin studying German. Now that the US State Department has issued a “travel advisory” for Europe, what should you do? Cancel the trip? Bring junior home? Professional travel advisers say it is too soon to hit the panic button. Here are eight things you can consider doing…

If you are very concerned about safety, you might want to contract with an outside group, such as International SOS or Global Rescue – for-profit companies that specialize in international medical emergencies and security issues.

“In the event of a Mumbai-type of incident they are able to get into places and extract people,” says Sano, who contracts with Global Rescue. “They are for the traveler who wants a more robust safety net,” he says.