Travel medicine and infectious disease
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Travel Med Infect Dis · Nov 2014
ReviewFascioliasis: a worldwide parasitic disease of importance in travel medicine.
Fascioliasis is a foodborne zoonotic disease caused by the two parasite species Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica. This trematodiasis has never been claimed special relevance for travellers and migrants. However, the situation has drastically changed in the last two decades, in a way that fascioliasis should today be included in the list of diseases to be enhanced in Travel Medicine. ⋯ Immunological techniques present the advantages of being applicable during all periods of the disease, but fundamentally during the invasive or acute period, as well as to other situations in which coprological techniques may present problems. Triclabendazole is the drug of choice at present, although the spread of resistance to this drug is challenging. Prevention mainly concerns measures to avoid individual infection by considering the different human infection sources.
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Travel Med Infect Dis · Nov 2014
ReviewMiddle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV): prevention in travelers.
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a novel coronavirus that causes a severe lower respiratory tract infection in humans, emerged in the Middle East in 2012. Since then, MERS-CoV has caused an ongoing epidemic in the Arabian Peninsula with sporadic cases imported in Europe, North Africa, Southeast Asia, and the United States of America. As of 28th May 2014, 636 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV have been reported to World Health Organization including 14 cases imported by travelers. ⋯ It is important to increase awareness of travelers about the risks and appropriate preventive measures and for health professionals to be on alert if a patient with severe respiratory symptoms reports a recent history of travel to the region affected with MERS-CoV. Measures should be taken by local health authorities of the affected countries in order to improve hospital hygiene. Finally, it is crucial to investigate the reasons for travelers' poor compliance with rules and recommendations issued by Saudi officials and to take appropriate measures in order to improve them.
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Travel Med Infect Dis · Sep 2014
ReviewTravel implications of emerging coronaviruses: SARS and MERS-CoV.
The emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and of the Middle East Syndrome Cornavirus (MERS-CoV) caused widespread fear and concern for their potential threat to global health security. There are similarities and differences in the epidemiology and clinical features between these two diseases. ⋯ The identification of both the intermediate host and the exact route of transmission of MERS-CoV is crucial for the subsequent prevention of the introduction of the virus into the human population. So far MERS-CoV had resulted in a limited travel-associated human cases with no major events related to the Hajj.
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Travel Med Infect Dis · Jul 2014
ReviewPrevention of combat-related infections: antimicrobial therapy in battlefield and barrier measures in French military medical treatment facilities.
Infection is a major complication associated with combat-related injuries. Beside immobilization, wound irrigation, surgical debridement and delayed coverage, post-injury antimicrobials contribute to reduce combat-related infections, particularly those caused by bacteria of the early contamination flora. ⋯ These bacteria are frequently resistant or multiresistant to antibiotics and spread through the deployed chain of care. This article exposes the principles of war wounds antimicrobial prophylaxis recommended in the French Armed Forces and highlights the need for high compliance to hygiene standard precautions, adapted contact precautions and judicious use of antibiotics in French deployed military medical treatment facilities (MTF).
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Travel Med Infect Dis · May 2014
ReviewThe 2014 FIFA World Cup: communicable disease risks and advice for visitors to Brazil--a review from the Latin American Society for Travel Medicine (SLAMVI).
The next FIFA World Cup will be held in Brazil in June-July 2014. Around 600,000 international visitors and participants (as well over 3 million domestic travelers) are expected. This event will take place in twelve cities. ⋯ Other important recommendations for travelers should focus on preventing water and food-borne diseases such as hepatitis A, typhoid fever, giardiasis and traveler's diarrhea. Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) should be also mentioned and the use of condoms advocated. This review addresses pre-travel, preventive strategies to reduce the risk of acquiring communicable diseases during a mass gathering such as the World Cup and also reviews the spectrum of endemic infections in Brazil to facilitate the recognition and management of infectious diseases in travelers returning to their countries of origin.