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The Pathogen Less Taken

 

 

# 6320

 

 

While the United States, Canada, and much of Europe remains free of most of the exotic diseases one might encounter in Africa, South America, or Asia – each year thousands of people infected with diseases like dengue, malaria, yellow fever, or cholera return from travels abroad.

 

These imported diseases not only pose a health risk for the unlucky traveler, they also have the potential to be spread locally.

 

A few examples of internationally imported infectious diseases include:

 

  • The 2009 influenza pandemic spread rapidly, in large part, due to the heavy spring break air travel in and out of Mexico during the initial outbreak.
  • Starting in 2010, Florida reported their first cases of locally acquired dengue fever in more than half a century – no doubt imported by someone who had visited a country where that virus is endemic.
  • I told the story in It's A Smaller World After All, but in 2007 a traveler returning from India brought the Chikungunya virus back to northern Italy which led to more than 290 cases being reported in the province of Ravenna.
  • The ongoing epidemic of Cholera in Haiti has been identified as an Asian strain, and is widely believed to have been brought into the country by UN Peacekeeping personnel.
  • And almost every year we see warnings issued from Australia (see A Message Of Import) to vacationers returning from Bali who may have been exposed to a `range of infectious diseases, including mosquito borne diseases like Dengue fever, gastroenteritis, sexually transmissible infections, and rabies.’

 

Since you can literally travel from just about any two cities (with airports) anywhere in the world in 24 hours or less, no longer are the oceans, or distance, a protection against diseases normally seen only in remote areas of the world.

 

All of which makes it imperative that travelers know what diseases they might be exposed to when globe-trotting and what precautions (including inoculations) they should take.

 

To that end, the World Health Organization has published their 2012 edition of the International Travel and Health book, and while if you want the entire book you’ll have to purchase it, there are sample chapters and a number of illuminating maps posted online for your consideration.

 

 

2012 Edition

More than 900 million international journeys are undertaken every year. Global travel on this scale exposes many people to a range of health risks. Many of these risks, can be minimized by precautions taken before, during and after travel. This report provides information on health risks for travellers.

 

For individual queries about travel, refer to national or specialised websites, ministries of health, travel clinics or practitioners.


Links to national travel and health websites

Some of the updated disease distribution maps that are available online include:

 

 

Many of the diseases one is likely to encounter are vectored by mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, or biting flies.

 

While rare, some – like West Nile, Lyme Disease, or EEE – may even be acquired here in the United States. Which is why the State of Florida strongly recommends that locals and visitors follow the `5 D’s’ of mosquito protection.

 

image

 

Good advice, whenever you are in mosquito territory.

 

For more information, the United States CDC maintains a full featured website just for travelers, with updates, travel advisories, and advice.

 

Travelers' Health

 Cover of CDC Health Information for International Travel 2012

Hot off the press! Explore Travel Health with the new 2012 Yellow Book!

See Travelers' Health site FAQ and Useful Links.

 

 

None of this should dissuade you from making that long awaited trip to some exotic locale. If you take the proper precautions, the odds of contracting a serious illness are small.

 

But it should spur you to investigate – before you depart – what types of diseases threats you might encounter and what steps you need to take to avoid contracting them.

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