[Morbidity of Israeli travelers after traveling to developing countries]

International tourism, including traveling to developing countries, has become increasingly popular. The number of Israeli travelers to developing countries is estimated at approximately 170,000 annually.

This study aims to analyze the morbidity among returning Israeli travelers.

A retrospective evaluation was conducted of patient files for those attending the Tropical Disease clinic at the Sheba Medical Center between 1994-2004.

A total of 842 patients attended the clinic during this period, with 1126 different diagnoses, including 20.9% of patients who were hospitalized in Israel and 6.2% abroad. Slightly more than half (56.7%) were male, 70% were in the 20-29 year age group. Most of the patients attended the clinic shortly after returning from traveling, but some attended the clinic more than 1 year later. The main destinations were Asia (49.2%), Latin America (23.4%) and Africa (23.2%). The most common diagnoses were gastrointestinal disease (41%), fatigue (25.8%), dermatological conditions (23.4%) and febrile diseases (22.7%). The typical diagnoses in travelers returning from Asia were chronic diarrhea and dengue fever. Dermatological conditions including leishmaniasis were prominent in travelers returning from Latin America, and in travelers returning from Africa--malaria, and schistosomiasis. In addition, there were gender differences; males acquired malaria, leishmaniasis and schistosomiasis more often, while females had more gastrointestinal complaints and fatigue.

Travelers acquired different health problems in different continents. This must be taken into consideration when patients seek medical advice either before or after their journey. Furthermore, physicians must be aware of the importance of having a thorough travel history of their patients, since medical problems acquired during travel may manifest long after returning home.