9: Infections in the returned traveller
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 30, 2026

Development of Multiplex Real-Time RT-qPCR Assays for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A/B, and MERS-CoV
Published on: November 10, 2023
David F M Looke1, Jennifer M B Robson
1Infection Management Services - Southern Queensland, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Woolloongabba, QLD.
Abstract:
The usual presentation of a returned traveller is with a particular syndrome - fever, respiratory infection, diarrhoea, eosinophilia, or skin or soft tissue infection - or for screening for asymptomatic infection. Fever in a returned traveller requires prompt investigation to prevent deaths from malaria; diagnosis of malaria may require up to three blood films over 36-48 hours. Diarrhoea is the most common health problem in travellers and is caused predominantly by bacteria; persistent diarrhoea is less likely to have an infectious cause, but its prognosis is usually good. While most travel-related infections present within six months of return, some important chronic infections may present months or years later (eg, strongyloidiasis, schistosomiasis). Travellers who have been bitten by an animal require evaluation for rabies prophylaxis.
Related Concept Videos
Stages of Infection
Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets
Contact Precautions:
Contact precautions are the measures taken to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, especially epidemiologically important microorganisms such as MRSA or influenza, primarily transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an...
Infection
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...
Influenza
Factors Affecting the Risk of Infection
The integrity and count of the white blood cells help the body resist pathogens and fight infection. When impaired, it reduces the body's resistance to pathogens. The acidic pH levels of the gastrointestinal, genitourinary tracts, and skin create...
Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...