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Problems at the Destination

By

Christopher Sanford

, MD, MPH, DTM&H, University of Washington;


Alexa Lindley

, MD, MPH, University of Washington School of Medicine

Reviewed/Revised Aug 2022 | Modified Dec 2022
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Health issues at the destination are especially important to prevent and avoid in international settings. Certain infections are common when traveling to certain areas, and many people are most concerned about infection when considering a trip overseas. However, motor vehicle crashes and heart disease are the most common causes of death among international travelers. Heart disease is the most common cause of death among nontravelers as well, suggesting that attention to health before leaving home is the best way to prevent illness while away.

Injuries and Death While Traveling

Injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes are the most frequent cause of death among younger and middle-aged travelers. Another common cause of death while traveling is drowning. Common-sense measures can be taken to prevent many such injuries. For example, people uncomfortable with unfamiliar traffic patterns (such as driving on the left side of the road in England versus the right side in the United States) can take public transportation or hire drivers familiar with local roads and traffic laws. Travelers should avoid overcrowded taxis, ferries, or other transports and avoid nighttime driving and swimming in poorly lit areas. People should wear seat belts even as passengers and should use a helmet when bicycling. Travelers should avoid motorcycles and mopeds and avoid riding on bus roofs or in open truck beds. Also, alcohol should never be consumed before driving or swimming, even where laws do not formally prohibit such actions or where laws that do exist are not enforced. People should also avoid beaches with turbulent waves, particularly when lifeguards are not present.

Many cities are unsafe after dark, and some are unsafe even during the day. A traveler should avoid walking alone on poorly lit or deserted streets in such cities, especially in countries where the traveler is obviously a stranger.

Fair-skinned travelers are more vulnerable to sunburn at tropical latitudes and at high altitude. Use of high-SPF (sun protection factor of 30 or higher) sunscreen is advisable. When both sunscreen and insect repellent are used, sunscreen should be applied first, then, after at least fifteen minutes, insect repellent.

Did You Know...

  • The most common cause of death among younger and middle-aged travelers is injury.

Traveler’s Diarrhea

The risk of traveler’s diarrhea may be reduced by the following measures:

  • Drinking and brushing teeth with bottled, filtered, boiled, UV-treated, or chlorinated water

  • Avoiding ice

  • Eating freshly prepared foods only if they have been heated to steaming temperatures

  • Eating only fruits and vegetables that people peel or shell themselves

  • Avoiding food from street vendors

  • Washing hands frequently

  • Avoiding all foods likely to have been exposed to flies

Taking certain antibiotics can also prevent traveler’s diarrhea. However, such use has a risk of side effects and may increase the chances that bacteria will develop resistance to antibiotics. Thus, doctors recommend preventive antibiotics only for people who have an immune deficiency disorder.

In most cases, traveler’s diarrhea subsides by itself in about 3 to 5 days and requires only the steady intake of fluids to prevent dehydration. Ordinary clear liquids (without caffeine or alcohol) are adequate for most people. Young children and older people may benefit from powdered rehydration mixes or an oral rehydration solution.

People who have moderate to severe symptoms (symptoms severe enough to disrupt activities) should consider taking an antibiotic, especially if they have vomiting, fever, abdominal cramps, or blood in the stool. Azithromycin is appropriate for most countries and is recommended for children and pregnant women. People should contact their doctor for an antibiotic prescription before travel. If people are 6 years of age or older and have no bloody stools, fever, or abdominal pain, they can also be treated with the antidiarrheal drug loperamide (which is available without a prescription).

For older adults and young children, powdered rehydration mixes are available for travel. If these mixes are unavailable, rehydration solutions can be made by adding 6 teaspoons of sugar and 1 half teaspoon of salt to 1 liter of water. However, solutions should be prepared carefully because young children can become seriously ill or die if they drink much of a solution that has been incorrectly mixed (for example, if a rehydration mix has not been fully diluted).

Malaria in Travelers

Mosquito bites are prevented by the following measures:

  • Wearing long-sleeved shirts and long trousers (especially at dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are most active)

  • Sleeping under a mosquito net

  • Applying the insecticide permethrin to clothing or purchasing clothing that has been impregnated with permethrin

  • Using insect repellants that contain diethyltoluamide (DEET) or picaridin

Antimalarial drugs

Even when people take measures to avoid mosquito bites, it is still necessary to take a drug to prevent malaria Medications to prevent malaria Malaria is infection of red blood cells with one of five species of the protozoa Plasmodium. Malaria causes fever, chills, sweating, a general feeling of illness (malaise), and sometimes... read more (such as mefloquine, chloroquine, doxycycline, or atovaquone/proguanil) when traveling to many parts of the world. Information about specific areas is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC: Malaria and Travelers).

Pregnant women should consider delaying travel to areas where malaria is common because malaria is more likely to be serious and life threatening among pregnant women than among women who are not pregnant, even when preventive drugs are used. Pregnant women who cannot postpone travel must weigh the risks of taking protective drugs, the effects of which on pregnancy are not well known, against the risks of traveling without protection.

Although the new RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine is recommended for children living in regions with moderate to high Plasmodium falciparum malaria transmission, this vaccine is not recommended for travelers to those regions.

Sexually Transmitted Infections

Sexually transmitted infections, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a viral infection that progressively destroys certain white blood cells and is treated with antiretroviral medications. If untreated, it can cause... read more Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection , gonorrhea Gonorrhea Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which infect the lining of the urethra, cervix, rectum, or throat, or the membranes that cover... read more Gonorrhea , syphilis Syphilis Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum. It can occur in three stages of symptoms, separated by periods of apparent good health. Syphilis... read more Syphilis , trichomoniasis Trichomoniasis Trichomoniasis is a sexually transmitted infection of the vagina or urethra that is caused by the protozoa Trichomonas vaginalis and that causes vaginal irritation and discharge and sometimes... read more , and hepatitis B Overview of Acute Viral Hepatitis Acute viral hepatitis is inflammation of the liver, generally meaning inflammation caused by infection with one of the five hepatitis viruses. In most people, the inflammation begins suddenly... read more , are more common in low- and middle-income countries. All can be prevented through abstinence or with correct, consistent use of a latex condom (see Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections Prevention Sexually transmitted infection (STI) refers to an infection that is passed through blood, semen, vaginal fluids, or other body fluids during oral, anal, or genital sex with an infected partner... read more Prevention ). Because HIV and hepatitis B also are transmitted through blood and needles, an international traveler should not accept a blood transfusion without assurance that the blood has been tested for infection. Also, injections should be accepted only through one-time-only disposable needles.

COVID-19

COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 is an acute respiratory illness that can be severe and is caused by the coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2. Symptoms of COVID-19 vary significantly. Two types of tests can be used to diagnose... read more is an acute respiratory illness that can be severe and is caused by the coronavirus named SARS-CoV2. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated limitation of travel to and from various countries. Entry requirements (for example, testing, vaccination, quarantine) change frequently, and travelers should check the websites of their nation's health agency (for example, in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) as well as those of the destination countries for current recommendations.

Dengue

Dengue Dengue Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection that causes fever, generalized body aches, and, if severe, external and internal bleeding (called dengue hemorrhagic fever). About 50 to 100 million... read more is a mosquito-borne viral infection that causes fever, generalized body aches, and, if severe, external and internal bleeding (called dengue hemorrhagic fever). Dengue is common in the tropics and subtropics worldwide. It is most common in Southeast Asia but has become more common in Central and South America and other countries. It has occurred in the Caribbean (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), in Oceania, and in the Indian subcontinent.

A vaccine is available in Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, and some other countries (not in the United States), but use is restricted to people who have previously had dengue.

Mosquito bite prevention is important for people traveling to areas where dengue is common.

  • Wear clothing that covers as much of the body as possible

  • Wear clothing to which the insecticide permethrin has been applied and sleep under a permethrin-treated mosquito net if sleeping quarters are not air conditioned

  • Use insect repellants, such as DEET (diethyltoluamide) or picaridin

  • Avoid exposure to mosquitoes and ticks as much as possible

Influenza

Schistosomiasis

Schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis is infection caused by certain flatworms (flukes), called schistosomes. People acquire schistosomiasis by swimming or bathing in fresh water that is contaminated with the flukes... read more is a common and potentially serious infection caused by a parasite that lives in freshwater in Africa, Southeast Asia, China, and eastern South America. The risk of schistosomiasis can be reduced by avoiding freshwater activities in areas where schistosomiasis is common. Asymptomatic travelers with freshwater exposure in regions where schistosomiasis is common should be screened for the parasite after returning from such regions.

Lice and Scabies

Zika Virus

Zika virus infection is spread by mosquitoes and also by sexual contact and transfusion of blood from an infected person. The disease has spread widely through South and Central America, the Caribbean, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Islands. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that all of the cases of Zika virus infection in the United States were in travelers returning from affected areas. There were no reports of Zika virus infection spread by local mosquitoes or through sexual contact. The CDC recommends that pregnant women consider postponing travel to areas where Zika virus infection is common (see CDC: Zika Virus: For Pregnant Women and CDC Zika Travel Information).

More Information

The following English-language resource may be useful. Please note that THE MANUAL is not responsible for the content of this resource.

Drugs Mentioned In This Article

Generic Name Select Brand Names
Cafcit, NoDoz, Stay Awake, Vivarin
Azasite, Zithromax, Zithromax Powder, Zithromax Single-Dose , Zithromax Tri-Pak, Zithromax Z-Pak, Zmax, Zmax Pediatric
Anti-Diarrheal, Imodium A-D, Imodium A-D EZ Chews , K-Pek II, Medique Diamode
Acticin, Elimite, Nix Complete Lice Elimination Kit, Nix Lice Killing Creme Rinse
Lariam
Aralen
Acticlate, Adoxa, Adoxa Pak, Avidoxy, Doryx, Doxal, Doxy 100, LYMEPAK, Mondoxyne NL, Monodox, Morgidox 1x, Morgidox 1x Kit, Morgidox 2x , Morgidox 2x Kit, Okebo, Oracea, Oraxyl, Periostat, TARGADOX, Vibramycin, Vibra-Tabs
Malarone, Malarone Pediatric
Ovide
G B H , GBH, Lindane
NOTE: This is the Consumer Version. DOCTORS: VIEW PROFESSIONAL VERSION
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