Author/Editor		Kotar, Tadeja
Title		Okužbe in obolevanje slovenskih popotnikov v tropska in subtropska področja
Type		monografija
Place		Ljubljana
Publisher		Univerza v Ljubljani, Medicinska fakulteta
Publication year		2006
Volume		str. 58
Language		slo
Abstract		Travel medicine is an exciting interdisciplinary specialty that has developed rapidly in response to the needs of the travelling population worldwide. Many Slovenians visit tropical and subtropical countries each year. However, there is very little prospective information on the health of Slovenians during and after their travel. So far only one retrospective study on travel related health problems was done in 1999. In this prospective study we analyzed the relative frequency of travel-associated health complaints in Slovenian travelers consulting The Infectious diseases department in Clinical centre Ljubljana between August 2003 and July 2004. A total of 193 patients were studied (110 women, 83 men). Travelers had a mean age of 32,3 years. The mean duration of travel was 50,5 days (range 5 - 505 days). The main destinations were Africa (subsaharan Africa 28% and north Africa 14%) and Indian subcontinent (19,7%), followed by south-east Asia (14%). Health advice before departure was sought by 52,3% of travelers. Comparing the group of travelers who were sick with the rest, a significant difference between noncomcompliance with the keeping of food hygiene and illness was found. Of the people who were advised to take antimalaria chemoprophylaxis, only 46,2 reported regular use of the drugs. The most common complaint was travelers diarrhea (50,3%), followed by malaria (14%) and skin disorders (11,9%). Respiratory illnes occured in 9,8% of travelers, urinary tract infections in 8,3%. Typhoid fever was diagnosed in 3,6% of travelers, viral hepatitis in 2% and sexual transmitted diseases in 1,5%. Tropical diseases (travelers diarhhea, malaria, typhoid fever, amebic liver abscess, larva migrans, leishmaniosis, filariosis, hepatitis A and E) were the leading cause of consultation in travelers returning from the tropics. (Abstract truncated at 2000 characters)
Descriptors		TRAVEL TROPICAL CLIMATE COMMUNICABLE DISEASES DIARRHEA MALARIA SKIN DISEASES URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS TYPHOID HEPATITIS, VIRAL, HUMAN QUESTIONNAIRES