Improving the evidence base for pre-travel advice: the importance of surveillance of travel-associated infection

[摘要] Foreign travel by UK residents is increasing, especially to destinations with more tropical climates that are often low-income countries with a high burden of infectious diseases. In 2003, 61.4 million visits abroad were made by UK residents; this is greater than the estimated UK population for that year and nearly three times the number of visits in 1983.1 Most visits are to European Union countries (around 70%), but the number of UK residents visiting more exotic destinations such as Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and south and central America, increased annually by an average of 11% between 1995 and 2002 compared with only a 5% increase for Europe. These trends are likely to continue and through travel, UK residents are at risk of contracting infectious diseases to which they are not normally exposed in the UK. The increasing importance of travel-related illness has been highlighted by recent articles in the literature,2,3 and primary care is very often the first point of contact both for pre-travel advice and for travellers returning to the UK with an illness.4,5 Primary care practitioners need the best quality information about specific risks associated with particular destinations, both to be able to advise the patients who consult them before they travel and also to be able to manage those who return unwell.

[学科分类] 卫生学