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[Influenza and travelling].
1Service de Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, 47, boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75651 Paris cedex 13, France.
Medecine Et Maladies Infectieuses
|April 8, 2006
Summary
Travelers risk contracting exotic diseases like influenza, potentially spreading them globally. Current flu vaccination strategies face challenges in availability and strain matching for travelers, impacting both vacations and public health.
Area of Science:
- Travel medicine
- Infectious disease epidemiology
Background:
- Travelers risk acquiring exotic diseases, including influenza, and introducing them to non-endemic areas.
- Influenza outbreaks have been documented in various traveler groups, highlighting the potential for transmission during travel.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the risk of influenza acquisition and transmission in travelers.
- To evaluate the current recommendations and challenges of influenza vaccination for travelers.
Main Methods:
- Review of reported influenza outbreaks in traveler cohorts.
- Analysis of current influenza vaccination guidelines for travelers.
Main Results:
- The incidence of influenza in travelers is not well-established, but outbreaks in groups are reported.
- Influenza vaccination is not routinely recommended for travelers unless they are in high-risk groups.
- Challenges include vaccine availability and mismatch between vaccine and circulating strains, especially for travelers in the Southern Hemisphere during Northern Hemisphere winter.
Conclusions:
- Influenza poses a risk to travelers, potentially impacting their health and vacation experience.
- Current vaccination strategies are difficult to implement effectively for the general traveling population.
- Vaccination could benefit both travelers and the community by limiting global influenza spread.