A Brief Overview of the Specialty of Travel Medicine

Letter to Editor

Authors

1 International Travel Medicine Clinic of El Paso and Center for Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine, El Paso, Texas, USA

2 University Medical Center of El Paso, Texas, USA

Letter to Editor

The knowledge base of Travel Medicine and the opportunities for disease control and elimination are being currently developed and described. New vaccines and preventive/curative drugs are becoming available as a result of well-controlled clinical trials. As new threats emerge (i.e. AIDS, Legionnaires’ disease, and hemorrhagic colitis) and travelers embark on more complex itineraries, additional approaches are needed by those working in Travel Medicine. Epidemiology It is estimated that more than 1 billion travelers, including 68.3 million Americans, crossed international boundaries worldwide in 2014 [1, 2]. Whether related to tourism, humanitarian efforts, military leave, or globalization of industry, travelers are at increased health risk. The CDC approximates that 30 to 60 percent of these travelers, an estimated 15 million people, become ill due to their travels [3, 4]... (Read more...)

References

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  2. Organization UNWT. . International tourism to continue robust growth in 2013: World Tourism Organization; 2013. Available from: http://www2.unwto.org/content/data-0.
  3. Sanford CA, Jong EC. The travel and tropical medicine manual: Elsevier Health Sciences; 2008.
  4. CDC. Travelers health: Airport: Screening and Monitoring Travelers to Prevent the Spread of Ebola [March 16, 2015]. Available from: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/diseases/ebola.
  5. CDC. Travel Vaccine Summary Table 2015 [October 20, 2015]. Available from: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2016/appendices/appendix-b-travel-vaccine-summary-table.
  6. Rabinerson D, Ninio A, Glezerman M. [Air travel during pregnancy]. Harefuah. 2008;147(4):354-8, 72.
  7. McGready R, Hamilton KA, Simpson JA, Cho T, Luxemburger C, Edwards R, et al. Safety of the insect repellent N,N-diethyl-M-toluamide (DEET) in pregnancy. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene. 2001;65(4):285-9.
  8. Organization WH. Malaria: Information for travelers 2015 [October 17, 2015]. Available from: http://www.who.int/malaria/travellers/en/.
  9. BA C. Travelers' Diarrhea: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2015 [October 7, 2015]. Available from: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2012/chapter-2-the-pre-travel-consultation/travelers-diarrhea.htm.
  10. Zuckerman JN. Principles and practice of travel medicine: John Wiley & Sons; 2002.

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History

  • Receive Date: 27 October 2015
  • Revise Date: 03 November 2015
  • Accept Date: 19 November 2015

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