Travel medicine and infectious disease
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Travel Med Infect Dis · Jan 2010
Quadrivalent meningococcal vaccines: hyporesponsiveness as an important consideration when choosing between the use of conjugate vaccine or polysaccharide vaccine.
Regional variations in the incidence and the distribution of serogroups which are responsible of meningococcal disease necessitate multivalent vaccines to ensure broad coverage for travelers. For almost 30 years, this has been provided by quadrivalent polysaccharide vaccine to protect against serogroups A, C, W-135 and Y, but with the advent of quadrivalent conjugate vaccines is there still a case to use the polysaccharide? The well documented hyporesponsiveness induced by polysaccharide vaccines after repeated administration, most clearly observed against serogroup C, suggest that, where available, conjugate vaccines should always be considered ahead of polysaccharide vaccine.
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Travel Med Infect Dis · Jan 2010
Case ReportsTungiasis--a cause of painful feet in a tropical traveller.
Tungiasis is an ectoparasitosis caused by the impregnated female sand flea Tunga penetrans. It is endemic in certain resource poor areas around the world and imported infestations in travellers can lead to considerable morbidity. With the rise in international travel and immigration, the likelihood of physicians encountering such tropical skin infestations is rising. ⋯ We describe a case of tungiasis where a traveller presented with painful foot lesions. The patient had returned to the United Kingdom 4 days previously after spending 4 weeks in the Pantanal region in Brazil. A literature review on this subject was undertaken in this article.
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Tungiasis is a parasitic skin disease caused by the sand flea Tunga penetrans. It is widespread in poor urban and rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and South America. Imported cases of tungiasis are increasingly being reported due to the increased numbers of travelers visiting the affected areas. ⋯ Tungiasis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of parasitic infections in travelers returning from endemic geographical areas.
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Travel Med Infect Dis · Sep 2009
Pre- and post-deployment health support provided to Australian disaster medical assistance team members: results of a national survey.
Calls for disaster medical assistance teams (DMATs) are likely to continue in response to international disasters. As part of a national survey, the present study was designed to evaluate Australian DMAT experience in relation to pre- and post-deployment health care. ⋯ This study of Australian DMAT members suggests that more emphasis should be placed on health of personnel prior to deployment with pre-deployment medical examinations and psychological assessment. Following the return home, and in addition to mission and psychological debriefing, there should be a post-deployment medical examination and ongoing support and follow-up of DMAT members. More research is needed to examine deployment health support issues.