Infectious diseases acquired by international travelers visiting the United States

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Travel Med
• Personal Author:
  Stoney, Rhett J. ; Esposito, Douglas H. ; Kozarsky, Phyllis ; Hamer, Davidson H. ; Grobusch, Martin P. ; Gkrania-Klotsas, Effrossyni ; Libman, Michael ; Gautret, Philippe ; Lian Lim, Poh ; Leder, Karin ; Schwartz, Eli ; Sotir, Mark J. ; Licitra, Carmelo
• Corporate Authors:
  GeoSentinel Surveillance Network
• Description:
  Background:
  
  Estimates of travel-related illness have focused predominantly on populations from highly developed countries visiting low- or middle-income countries, yet travel to and within high-income countries is very frequent. Despite being a top international tourist destination, few sources describe the spectrum of infectious diseases acquired among travelers to the United States.
  
  Methods:
  
  We performed a descriptive analysis summarizing demographic and travel characteristics, and clinical diagnoses among non-US-resident international travelers seen during or after travel to the United States at a GeoSentinel clinic from 1 January 1997 through 31 December 2016.
  
  Results:
  
  There were 1,222 ill non-US-resident travelers with 1,393 diagnoses recorded during the 20-year analysis period. Median age was 40 years (range 0–86 years); 52% were female. Patients visited from 63 countries and territories, most commonly Canada (31%), Germany (14%), France (9%), and Japan (7%). Travelers presented with a range of illnesses; skin and soft tissue infections of unspecified etiology were the most frequently reported during travel (29 diagnoses, 14% of during-travel diagnoses); arthropod bite/sting was the most frequently reported after travel (173 diagnoses, 15% after-travel diagnoses). Lyme disease was the most frequently reported arthropod-borne disease after travel (42, 4%). Nonspecific respiratory, gastrointestinal and systemic infections were also among the most frequently reported diagnoses overall. Low-frequency illnesses (<2% of cases) made up over half of diagnoses during travel and 41% of diagnoses after travel, including 13 cases of coccidioidomycosis and mosquito-borne infections like West Nile, dengue, and Zika virus diseases.
  
  Conclusions:
  
  International travelers to the United States acquired a diverse array of mostly cosmopolitan infectious diseases, including nonspecific respiratory, gastrointestinal, dermatologic, and systemic infections comparable to what has been reported among travelers to low- and middle-income countries. Clinicians should consider the specific health risks when preparing visitors to the United States and when evaluating and treating those who become ill.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Adult Aged Child Communicable Diseases Female Health Status Humans Male Middle Aged Risk Factors Sentinel Surveillance Travel Travel-Related Illness Young Adult

  More +
• Source:
  J Travel Med. 25(1)
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Volume:
  25
• Issue:
  1
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ae7216f5243005029f3f7e61228d16bc2088362445b5fb88123bd6abb196af45b9e5e622b7602514cd35d9f3e14092532f35e53090cddb9b29c95ecd887064bb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/79962/cdc_79962_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 130.25 KB ]