Travel medicine and infectious disease
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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 · 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
Observational StudyMalaria chemoprophylaxis regimens: a descriptive drug utilization study.
Mefloquine belongs to the priority chemoprophylaxis drugs for travelers to malaria endemic regions. We aimed to assess the prescribing patterns for mefloquine and other antimalarials. ⋯ The most frequently prescribed antimalarial chemoprophylaxis was atovaquone/proguanil. Mefloquine was occasionally prescribed for patients with comorbidities listed as contraindications, but most practitioners observed contraindications. Mefloquine was often prescribed for children and pregnant women.