Journal of travel medicine
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Although respiratory tract infections represent a frequent cause of morbidity in travelers, and pneumonia a frequent cause of medical consultation among febrile travelers returning home, the etiologic spectrum of pneumonia in travelers has not been specifically studied. ⋯ These results show the wide range of causes of pneumonia among travelers returning from abroad.
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The importation of SARS was responsible for the outbreaks in Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Canada at a time when this new disease had not been identified. We report the incidence and impact of cases of SARS imported to Singapore between 25 February and 31 May 2003, and describe national measures to prevent further importation. ⋯ The SARS outbreak in Singapore can be traced to the first imported case. The absence of transmission from the other imported cases was probably a result of relatively prompt identification and isolation of cases, together with a low potential for transmission. New imported SARS cases therefore need not lead to major outbreaks if systems are in place to identify and isolate them early. Screening at entry points is costly, has a low yield and is not sufficient in itself, but may be justified in light of the major economic, social and international impact which even a single imported SARS case may have.