Abstract
Background. US residents make 60 million international trips annually. Family practice providers need to be aware of travel-associated diseases affecting this growing mobile population. Objective. To describe demographics, travel characteristics and clinical diagnoses of US residents who present ill after international travel. Methods. Descriptive analysis of travel-associated morbidity and mortality among US travellers seeking care at 1 of the 22 US practices and clinics participating in the GeoSentinel Global Surveillance Network from January 2000 to December 2012. Results. Of the 9624 ill US travellers included in the analysis, 3656 (38%) were tourist travellers, 2379 (25%) missionary/volunteer/research/aid workers (MVRA), 1580 (16%) travellers visiting friends and relatives (VFRs), 1394 (15%) business travellers and 593 (6%) student travellers. Median (interquartile range) travel duration was 20 days (10-60 days). Pre-travel advice was sought by 45%. Hospitalization was required by 7%. Compared with other groups of travellers, ill MVRA travellers returned from longer trips (median duration 61 days), while VFR travellers disproportionately required higher rates of inpatient care (24%) and less frequently had received pre-travel medical advice (20%). Illnesses of the gastrointestinal tract were the most common (58%), followed by systemic febrile illnesses (18%) and dermatologic disorders (17%). Three deaths were reported. Diagnoses varied according to the purpose of travel and region of exposure. Conclusions. Returning ill US international travellers present with a broad spectrum of travelassociated diseases. Destination and reason for travel may help primary health care providers to generate an accurate differential diagnosis for the most common disorders and for those that may be life-threatening.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 678-687 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Family Practice |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2014 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Diagnosis
- Epidemiology
- Morbidity
- Prevention
- Surveillance
- Travel
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Family Practice
Cite this
Travel-associated disease among US residents visiting US GeoSentinel clinics after return from international travel. / GeoSentinel Surveillance Network.
In: Family Practice, Vol. 31, No. 6, 01.12.2014, p. 678-687.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Travel-associated disease among US residents visiting US GeoSentinel clinics after return from international travel
AU - GeoSentinel Surveillance Network
AU - Hagmann, Stefan H.F.
AU - Han, Pauline V.
AU - Stauffer, William M.
AU - Miller, Andy O.
AU - Connor, Bradley A.
AU - Hale, De Von C.
AU - Coyle, Christina M.
AU - Cahill, John D.
AU - Marano, Cinzia
AU - Esposito, Douglas H.
AU - Kozarsky, Phyllis E.
AU - Haulman, Jean
AU - Roesel, David
AU - Jong, Elaine C.
AU - Chen, Lin H.
AU - Gurtman, Alejandra
AU - Nutman, Thomas B.
AU - Klion, Amy D.
AU - Licitra, Carmelo
AU - Crespo, Antonio
AU - Freedman, David O.
AU - Hynes, Noreen
AU - Sack, R. Bradely
AU - McKenzie, Robin
AU - Lynch, Michael W.
AU - Yates, Johnnie
AU - Barnett, Elizabeth
AU - McLellan, Susan
AU - Anglim, Anne
AU - Piper-Jenks, Nancy
PY - 2014/12/1
Y1 - 2014/12/1
N2 - Background. US residents make 60 million international trips annually. Family practice providers need to be aware of travel-associated diseases affecting this growing mobile population. Objective. To describe demographics, travel characteristics and clinical diagnoses of US residents who present ill after international travel. Methods. Descriptive analysis of travel-associated morbidity and mortality among US travellers seeking care at 1 of the 22 US practices and clinics participating in the GeoSentinel Global Surveillance Network from January 2000 to December 2012. Results. Of the 9624 ill US travellers included in the analysis, 3656 (38%) were tourist travellers, 2379 (25%) missionary/volunteer/research/aid workers (MVRA), 1580 (16%) travellers visiting friends and relatives (VFRs), 1394 (15%) business travellers and 593 (6%) student travellers. Median (interquartile range) travel duration was 20 days (10-60 days). Pre-travel advice was sought by 45%. Hospitalization was required by 7%. Compared with other groups of travellers, ill MVRA travellers returned from longer trips (median duration 61 days), while VFR travellers disproportionately required higher rates of inpatient care (24%) and less frequently had received pre-travel medical advice (20%). Illnesses of the gastrointestinal tract were the most common (58%), followed by systemic febrile illnesses (18%) and dermatologic disorders (17%). Three deaths were reported. Diagnoses varied according to the purpose of travel and region of exposure. Conclusions. Returning ill US international travellers present with a broad spectrum of travelassociated diseases. Destination and reason for travel may help primary health care providers to generate an accurate differential diagnosis for the most common disorders and for those that may be life-threatening.
AB - Background. US residents make 60 million international trips annually. Family practice providers need to be aware of travel-associated diseases affecting this growing mobile population. Objective. To describe demographics, travel characteristics and clinical diagnoses of US residents who present ill after international travel. Methods. Descriptive analysis of travel-associated morbidity and mortality among US travellers seeking care at 1 of the 22 US practices and clinics participating in the GeoSentinel Global Surveillance Network from January 2000 to December 2012. Results. Of the 9624 ill US travellers included in the analysis, 3656 (38%) were tourist travellers, 2379 (25%) missionary/volunteer/research/aid workers (MVRA), 1580 (16%) travellers visiting friends and relatives (VFRs), 1394 (15%) business travellers and 593 (6%) student travellers. Median (interquartile range) travel duration was 20 days (10-60 days). Pre-travel advice was sought by 45%. Hospitalization was required by 7%. Compared with other groups of travellers, ill MVRA travellers returned from longer trips (median duration 61 days), while VFR travellers disproportionately required higher rates of inpatient care (24%) and less frequently had received pre-travel medical advice (20%). Illnesses of the gastrointestinal tract were the most common (58%), followed by systemic febrile illnesses (18%) and dermatologic disorders (17%). Three deaths were reported. Diagnoses varied according to the purpose of travel and region of exposure. Conclusions. Returning ill US international travellers present with a broad spectrum of travelassociated diseases. Destination and reason for travel may help primary health care providers to generate an accurate differential diagnosis for the most common disorders and for those that may be life-threatening.
KW - Diagnosis
KW - Epidemiology
KW - Morbidity
KW - Prevention
KW - Surveillance
KW - Travel
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84937201732&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84937201732&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/fampra/cmu063
DO - 10.1093/fampra/cmu063
M3 - Article
C2 - 25261506
AN - SCOPUS:84937201732
VL - 31
SP - 678
EP - 687
JO - Family Practice
JF - Family Practice
SN - 0263-2136
IS - 6
ER -