Travel Related Infection Flashcards
International travel health advice
Risk assessment
Requirements change
Up-to-date information
Individual advice regarding general measures, immunisation and drug prophylaxis
Risk assessment of the traveller
Health of the traveller Areas to be visited Duration of visit Accommodation Activities Remote areas Previous immunisation and prophylaxis
Sources of information on travel advice
British national formulary
Immunisation against infectious diseases
Health information for overseas travel
Institutions e.g. schools of tropical medicine
Internet
Common immunisations for travellers
Tetanus Polio Typhoid Hepatitis A Yellow fever
Immunisation for travellers in special circumstances
Meningococcus Rabies Diptheria Hepatitis B Japanese B encephalitis Tick borne encephalitis Pneumococcus Influenza
Who should be given malaria chemoprophylaxis and how long should the course of treatment be?
Essential for all travellers to endemic areas, including children and pregnant women
Commence 1-3 weeks before travel and continue for up to 4 weeks after leaving
Examples of viral haemorrhagic fevers that travellers may be at risk of
Yellow fever Dengue haemorrhagic fever Hentavirus infections Lessa fever Marburg fever Ebola fever Congo-Crimea haemorrhagic fever
Examples of zoonoses that travellers may be at risk of
Brucellosis
Rabies
Tularaemia
Anthrax
Unfamiliar features of imported disease
Presenting features Isolation requirements Diagnostic methods Management requirements Unexpected complications
Factors increasing the vulnerability of travellers to infection
Temptation to take risks away from home
Different epidemiology of some diseases
Incomplete understanding of health hazards
Stress of travel
Refugees - deprivation, malnutrition, disease or injury
Infections common worldwide
Influenza
Community-acquired pneumonia
Meningococcal disease
STDs
Conditions caused/exacerbated climate/environment
Sunburn Heat exhaustion Heat stroke Fungal infections Bacterial skin infections Cold injury Altitude sickness
Infections controllable by sanitation
Traveller's diarrhoea Typhoid Hepatitis A or E Giardiasis Amoebiasis Helminth infections Viral gastroenteritis Food poisoning Shigella dysentery Cholera Cryptosporidiosis
Infections controllable by immunisation
Poliomyelitis
Diphtheria
Infections controllable by education
HIV
STDs
Infections transmitted in water and mud
Schistosomiasis Leptospirosis Liver flukes Strongyloidiasis Hookworms Guinea worms
Infections transmitted by arthropod vectors
Malaria Dengue fever Rickettsial infections Leishmaniasis Trypanosomiasis Filariasis Onchocerciasis
Emerging infectious diseases
Zika Ebola MERS-CoV Swine flu Avian flu SARS West Nile virus
Important tropical diseases
Malaria Typhoid Dengue fever Schistosomiasis Rickettsiosis Viral haemorrhagic fevers Zika fever
Epidemiology of malaria
Tropical
Most important imported disease
Vector is the female anopheles mosquito
Cases of malaria per year according to WHO 2012
207 million cases/year
781,000 deaths/year
Species of malaria
Plasmodium falciparum (potentially severe) Plasmodium vivax Plasmodium ovale Plasmodium malariae Plasmodium knowlesi
Symptoms of malaria
Fever Rigors Aching bones Abdominal pain Headache Dysuria Frequency Sore throat Cough
Signs of malaria
May be none
Splenomegaly
Hepatomegaly
Mild jaundice
Complications of malaria
Cerebral malaria (encephalopathy) Blackwater fever Pulmonary oedema Jaundice Severe anaemia Algid malaria
Features of cerebral malaria (encephalopathy)
Hypoglycaemia
Convulsions
Hypoxia
Features of blackwater fever
Severe intravascular haemolysis High parasitaemia Profound anaemia Haemoglobinuria Acute renal failure
Diagnosis of malaria
Thick and thin blood films
Quantitative buddy coat
Rapid antigen tests
When assessing malaria severity, one or more of what features are indicative of complicated malaria?
Impaired consciousness or seizures Hypoglycaemia Parasite count 2% or more Haemoglobin 8mg/dL or less Spontaneous bleeding Haemoglobinuria Renal impairment or pH < 7.3 Pulmonary oedema or ARDS Shock
Traditional malaria drugs
Quinine
Artemisinins