11. Travel Medicine Flashcards
Travel assessment
- 6-8 weeks prior to departure
- Purpose of travel
- Underlying health & vaccination status
Itinerary:
- Destinations
- Accommodation
- Planned activities
- Duration of travel
- Prior travel experience
Medical recommendations:
- Vaccines
- Prophylaxis
- Self-treatment
- Follow up (if required)
Risk factors
- Young
- Elderly
- Disabilities
- Pregnancy
- Immunocompromised
- Long term medical conditions
- High risk destinations
Managing medications
- Medical certificate
- Insurance
- Storage
- Managing time zones
High risk medications:
- Insulin
- Warfarin
- Contraception
- Controlled drugs
3 R’s
- Routine
- Required
- Recommended
Vector borne diseases: Insect avoidance
Personal protection:
- Wear light coloured clothing
- Use clothing that covers most of the body – long sleeves & pants
- Use insect repellent
- Use insecticide vaporisers
- Minimise use of perfumes, aftershave, soaps & body lotions
- Avoid outdoor activity during peak biting times
- Use bed net & clothing impregnated with insecticide
Vector borne diseases: Insect repellent
- DEET: \+ Most studied & long term use \+ Minimal ADRs \+ Concentration 20 – 50% \+ Effective for 4 – 8 hours - Picaridin - Oil of lemon eucalyptus
Application: - As per manufacturer instructions - Reapplication may be required more when often \+ Swimming \+ Concurrent use of sunscreen
Malaria
- Infection due to parasites
- Incubation 7 – 30 days
Risk factors:
- Children < 5 years old
- Pregnant women
- HIV/AIDS
- Non-immune migrants
- Travellers
Malaria transmission
Plasmodium parasite:
- P. falciparum – common & can cause severe disease
- P. vivax – common
- P. ovale
- P. malariae
- P. knowlesi
- Parasite lives in anopheles’ mosquito
- Spread to humans by bite of infected mosquito
- Bites at night from dusk to dawn
- No human-to-human transmission UNLESS
+ Through mother to foetus during pregnancy
+ Transfusion of infected blood
Malaria clinical presentation
Early symptoms:
- Head & body aches
- Fatigue & malaise
Later symptoms:
- Fever
- Sweating
- Rigors
- Chills
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Jaundice
Severe symptoms:
- Caused by P. falciparum
- Anaemia
- Seizures
- Mental confusion
- Renal failure
- Coma & death
Malaria prevention
- No vaccine available
- Insect avoidance
Chemoprophylaxis: - Not 100% effective - Takes into account patient factors: \+ Area being visited & duration of stay \+ Risk of exposure to malaria \+ Extent of drug resistance \+ Efficacy of the recommended drugs \+ Adverse effects \+ Patient-specific considerations
Malaria chemoprophylaxis
Medications:
- Malarone (atovaquone & proguanil) – 1 tab once daily & initiate 1-2 days prior to departure
- Doxycycline – 100 mg once daily & initiate 1-2 days prior to departure
- Mefloquine – 250 mg once weekly & initiate 2-3 weeks prior to departure
Duration:
- Continue prophylaxis up to 4 weeks after leaving endemic area
- EXCEPT Malarone – can be stopped 1 week after leaving
Malaria treatment
- Assess severity
- Identify source
- Identify drug resistance
- Allow for any patient related considerations
Treatment options:
+ Riamet (artemether & lumefantrine)
+ Malarone (atovaquone & proguanil)
Vector borne diseases: Dengue fever
Flavivirus:
- 4 serological types - DENV 1, 2, 3 & 4
Transmission - Aedes mosquito
- 2 species - A aegypti & A albopictus
- Bite during the day
- Prefer human dwellings
Dengue presentation
Symptoms:
- ~75% asymptomatic
- Sudden onset
- High fever
- Severe headaches
- Joint & muscle pain
- Eye pain
- Rash
- Minor haemorrhagic manifestations
- Serious complications uncommon
Duration:
- Incubation 4 – 10 days
- Illness typically occurs for 2 – 7 days
- Complete recovery can take 2 – 4 weeks
Dengue hemorrhagic fever
- Serious manifestation of dengue virus
- Can be associated with circulatory failure & shock
Characterised by 4 cardinal features
- Increased vascular permeability (plasma leakage syndrome)
- Marked thrombocytopenia
- Fever lasting 2 – 7 days
- Haemorrhagic symptoms
- Dengue shock syndrome (DSS) is cases where shock is also present