Regional Variation in Travel-related Illness acquired in Africa, March 1997–May 2011

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Mendelson, Marc ; Han, Pauline V. ; Vincent, Peter ; von Sonnenburg, Frank ; Cramer, Jakob P. ; Loutan, Louis ; Kain, Kevin C. ; Parola, Philippe ; Hagmann, Stefan ; Gkrania-Klotsas, Effrossyni ; Sotir, Mark ; Schlagenhauf, Patricia
• Corporate Authors:
  for the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network
• Description:
  To understand geographic variation in travel-related illness acquired in distinct African regions, we used the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network database to analyze records for 16,893 ill travelers returning from Africa over a 14-year period. Travelers to northern Africa most commonly reported gastrointestinal illnesses and dog bites. Febrile illnesses were more common in travelers returning from sub-Saharan countries. Eleven travelers died, 9 of malaria; these deaths occurred mainly among male business travelers to sub-Saharan Africa. The profile of illness varied substantially by region: malaria predominated in travelers returning from Central and Western Africa; schistosomiasis, strongyloidiasis, and dengue from Eastern and Western Africa; and loaisis from Central Africa. There were few reports of vaccine-preventable infections, HIV infection, and tuberculosis. Geographic profiling of illness acquired during travel to Africa guides targeted pretravel advice, expedites diagnosis in ill returning travelers, and may influence destination choices in tourism.
• Subjects:
  Communicable Diseases Female Humans Male Middle Aged Travel
• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 20(4):532-541.
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Africa
• Volume:
  20
• Issue:
  4
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:999686bc8bbef1209cb40c546010706ec2bd37cc2aed424da6073e460b7cf9b6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/22208/cdc_22208_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 557.61 KB ]