Journal of travel medicine
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This review aims to summarize the transmission patterns of influenza, its seasonality in different parts of the globe, air travel- and cruise ship-related influenza infections and interventions to reduce transmission. ⋯ The differences in influenza seasonality between hemispheres have substantial implications for the effectiveness of influenza vaccination of travellers. Health care providers should be aware of influenza activity when patients report travel plans, and they should provide alerts and advise on prevention, diagnostic and treatment options. To mitigate the risk of travel-related influenza, interventions include antivirals for self-treatment (in combination with the use of rapid self-tests), extending the shelf life of influenza vaccines to enable immunization during the summer months for international travellers and allowing access to the influenza vaccine used in the opposite hemisphere as a travel-related vaccine. With the currently available vaccines, the most important preventive measure involves optimizing the seasonal influenza vaccination. It is also imperative that influenza is recognized as a travel-related illness among both travellers and health care professionals.
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South Korea implemented restrictions on travel from China in January of 2023. In this scenario-based model, we estimated that the travel restrictions for inbound travellers from China were associated with a 0.3–9.8% decrease in the internal spread of SARS-CoV-2 in South Korea (95% Confidence Interval, 0.2–11.7%).
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Based on data from three imported mpox cases in South Korea, the overall attack rate was determined to be 1%, while a secondary attack rate of 14% was estimated in the high-exposure group.
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Highlights: Here we present the first human case of Influenza A H5N1 infection in Chile, and the fifth worldwide in 2023. The patient is a 53-year-old man who lives in the north region of Chile, near the seashore. The Chilean sample was subtyped in the clade 2.3.4.4b.