Travel medicine and infectious disease
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Travel Med Infect Dis · May 2010
ReviewProfessional organisation profile: a sub-Faculty of expedition medicine for Australasia.
A review of the recent foundation by The Australasian College of Tropical Medicine of the Sub-Faculty of Expedition Medicine is presented. Information is given on aims, professional grades of membership, and the various activities of the Sub-Faculty, including publications and scientific meetings.
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Travel Med Infect Dis · May 2010
ReviewTravelling to India for the Delhi XIX Commonwealth Games 2010.
The 19th Commonwealth Games, conducted once in every four years since 1930, will be held in New Delhi from the 3rd through until the 14th of October, 2010. There will be approximately 17 sports on display and there will also be 15 para-sporting events. This paper focuses on health and safety issues for travellers to India in general, although it provides specific references to advice for visiting Commonwealth Games athletes and team staff, who will be travelling to the games. Whilst it needs be remembered that travel health advice can change, travellers are advised to seek up-to-date travel health advice for India, from their professional providers, closer to their departure.
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Travel Med Infect Dis · May 2010
Incidence of malaria and risk factors in Italian travelers to malaria endemic countries.
Imported malaria has been an increasing problem in Italy in the last three decades of the 1900s, representing the main risk for travelers visiting tropical and sub-tropical countries where malaria is endemic. Even though the total number of imported cases has been declining since 2000, malaria still represents the most frequent notifiable imported disease in Italy. The present study analyzes all the malaria cases reported in Italy in 2000-2006 in order to assess the trend of incidence over the time and reviewing the risk factors for travelers visiting malaria endemic countries. ⋯ The different factors which may influence the risk of contracting malaria for travelers visiting endemic countries and the strategy to reduce completely the number of fatal cases were considered and discussed.
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Travel Med Infect Dis · Mar 2010
Guidance from WHO on the prevention and control of TB during air travel.
Although tuberculosis (TB) is not highly transmissible, there is a risk of transmission of infection when close contact occurs between a person with active pulmonary TB and other passengers for prolonged periods during air travel. The World Health Organization first published Tuberculosis and air travel: guidelines for prevention and control in 1998, in response to several incidents involving TB in air travellers, with a second edition in 2006. ⋯ This article describes the process followed in preparing the third edition, the special issues considered and the conclusions reached, with recommendations for travellers, physicians, public health authorities, and airline companies. New material includes: (i) additional guidance on the assessment of infectiousness, and on procedures, roles and responsibilities involved in the prevention of transmission of infection on board and for dealing with incidents; (ii) information on basic provisions of the IHR and measures relevant to incidents involving TB among air travellers; and (iii) a proposed procedure for carrying out contact investigations.
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Travel Med Infect Dis · Mar 2010
The international health regulations (2005), tuberculosis and air travel.
In 2007, the World Health Organization's ("WHO") revised International Health Regulations (2005) ("IHR" or "Regulations") entered into force across the globe. The IHR contain a range of binding and advisory provisions for reporting, health measures, capacity-building and further procedures to address the risks of international disease spread in international travel, transport and trade. ⋯ In light of the great numbers of persons undertaking international travel, the worldwide geographical coverage of the IHR, and the emergence of extremely drug resistant TB ("XDR TB"), these Regulations are an important element in addressing these (and other) serious international public health risks. This article describes the relevant provisions in the IHR, and their applicability in this context.