[Travellers in medical practice]

In order to competently advise people who are planning to travel abroad the doctor needs information both about the planned journey (the mode of travel, the itinerary, the time of the trip) and about possible preexisting health problems. The area where the traveller intends to stay determines the specific risk of endemic diseases such as malaria, dengue-fever, yellow-fever etc. The recommendations for prophylaxis of malaria and for the different vaccinations are constantly modified and can be attained from the internet. Pre-existing health hazards such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, HIV-infection need to be assessed. Special consideration should be taken for pregnant women. The traveller returning from an endemic malarious area who feels ill or is febrile is a medical emergency and must be assessed for the possibility of having malaria since nontreated malaria in non-immune people has a very high mortality rate. Diarrhea is a common problem but is rarely dangerous. Long standing or bloody diarrhea, however, calls for a thorough search for the responsible pathogen. Healthy return travellers do not need a check-up examination because there are virtually no consequences for treatment.