Journal of travel medicine
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Recent years have seen unprecedented growth in international travel. Travellers are at high risk for acquiring infections while abroad and potentially bringing these infections back to their home country. There are many ways to mitigate this risk by seeking pre-travel advice (PTA), including receiving recommended vaccinations and chemoprophylaxis, however many travellers do not seek or adhere to PTA. We conducted a systematic review to further understand PTA-seeking behaviour with an ultimate aim to implement interventions that improve adherence to PTA and reduce morbidity and mortality in travellers. ⋯ These data may help clinicians and public health providers to better understand reasons for non-adherence to PTA and target interventions to improve travellers understanding of potential and modifiable risks. Additionally, we discuss specific recommendations to increase public health education that may enable travellers to seek PTA.
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According to 2016 World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund country estimates, Eritrea has overall high vaccination coverage with immunization rates for three doses of diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis and polio vaccine of 95%, for two doses measles vaccine of 85% and for three doses hepatitis B vaccine of 85%. If confirmed, this could imply that routine basic vaccination of newly arrived Eritreans could be safely omitted. ⋯ Seroprevalence for vaccine-preventable infections did not meet levels required to confer herd immunity in any of the human-to-human transmissible diseases that were studied. In general, the strategy proposed by the Federal Office of Public Health to offer basic immunization to all newly arrived refugees, including newly arriving Eritrean refugees, is justified.
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Medical tourism (MT) is an increasingly utilized modality for acquiring medical treatment for patients globally. This review assimilates the current literature regarding MT, with particular focus on the applications, ethics and economics. ⋯ MT is growing in popularity and complexity. The lack of standardization in its definition and regulation leads to difficulty in epidemiologic and economic analysis and ethical issues of informed consent and health equity. The findings of this review may be used by the stakeholders of MT, including patients and providers, to enhance informed decision-making and quality of care.
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With the advent of highly active antiretroviral drugs for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) it has become possible for people with HIV to travel to destinations that may place them at risk of a number of infectious diseases. Prevention of infections by vaccination is therefore of paramount importance for these travellers. However, vaccine responsiveness in HIV-positive individuals is not infrequently reduced compared to HIV-negative individuals. An understanding of the expected immune responses to vaccines in HIV-positive travellers is therefore important in planning the best approach to a pretravel consultation. ⋯ This review provides a summary of the immunological responses to commonly used vaccines for the HIV-positive travellers. This information will help guide travel medicine practitioners in making decisions about vaccination and boosting of travellers with HIV.