Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 23, 2026

Experimental Human Pneumococcal Carriage
07:47

Experimental Human Pneumococcal Carriage

Published on: February 15, 2013

Paediatric international travellers from Greece: characteristics and pre-travel recommendations

Helena C Maltezou1, Androula Pavli, Athina Spilioti

  • 1Department for Interventions in Health Care Facilities, Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 3-5 Agrafon Street, Athens 15123, Greece. helen-maltezou@ath.forthnet.gr

Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease
|April 24, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Few children traveling internationally from Greece seek pre-travel advice. Most child travelers go to sub-Saharan Africa for recreation, with malaria prevention advised for many. Improved communication is needed to reach more pediatric travelers.

Area of Science:

  • Travel Medicine
  • Paediatric Health
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Pre-travel health advice is crucial for international travelers, especially children, to prevent travel-related illnesses.
  • Understanding the profile of pediatric travelers is essential for tailoring preventive health strategies.
  • Limited data exists on Greek children seeking pre-travel consultations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize children under 15 years who sought pre-travel advice in Greece between 2008 and 2010.
  • To identify their travel destinations, duration, and purpose.
  • To inform the development of targeted travel medicine services for pediatric populations.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of pre-travel service data from 4065 individuals over a three-year period.
  • Inclusion criteria: children aged <15 years seeking pre-travel advice.
  • Data collected included travel destinations, duration, purpose, accommodation, and prescribed chemoprophylaxis.

Main Results:

  • Only 128 children (3.15%) utilized pre-travel services.
  • Top destinations included sub-Saharan Africa (42.2%), South America (14.1%), and the Middle East (12.5%).
  • Recreation was the primary travel purpose (63.3%), with significant stays in local residences for visiting friends and relatives (VFRs) (85.7%). Malaria chemoprophylaxis was recommended for 64.8% of those traveling to sub-Saharan Africa.

Conclusions:

  • A small proportion of international pediatric travelers in Greece access pre-travel health services.
  • Pediatric travelers, particularly VFRs, exhibit distinct travel patterns and accommodation preferences.
  • Enhanced communication strategies are necessary to improve access and uptake of travel medicine services for children.

Related Concept Videos

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption01:23

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption

Understanding the physiological differences in the pediatric population is crucial for effective pharmacotherapy. Neonates, infants, and children exhibit significant variations in gastric pH, gastric emptying time, intestinal transit time, and biliary function. These variations profoundly affect oral drug absorption, necessitating a nuanced approach to pediatric dosing.Neonates present with a unique physiological profile, having a gastric pH greater than 4 and faster and more irregular gastric...
Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets01:17

Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets

Transmission-based precautions are for patients known to be infected or suspected to be infected or colonized with organisms that pose a significant risk to others. Some transmission-based precautions include contact, enteric, and droplet.
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...
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion01:26

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion

In pediatric medicine, understanding the renal function and drug elimination nuances is crucial for administering safe and effective treatments. Newborns, in particular, display markedly slower renal functions than adults, profoundly affecting how drugs are cleared from their bodies. This slower drug clearance requires clinicians to extend the dosing intervals for many medications to prevent drug accumulation and toxicity while ensuring therapeutic efficacy.One key area where these adjustments...
Drugs Affecting GI Tract Motility: Antimicrobials as Antidiarrheal Agents01:18

Drugs Affecting GI Tract Motility: Antimicrobials as Antidiarrheal Agents

Acute diarrhea, a common gastrointestinal disturbance, is characterized by the rapid evacuation of fluid stools, leading to an excessive weight in fluid. This condition typically arises from disorders affecting intestinal water and electrolyte transport. It can be triggered by an increased osmotic load within the intestine, excessive secretion of electrolytes and water, mucosal exudation of protein and fluid, or altered intestinal motility. The primary risks of acute diarrhea are dehydration...
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Distribution01:17

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Distribution

Drug distribution in the pediatric population exhibits unique challenges and considerations due to the physiological differences between children, particularly neonates and infants, and adults. A crucial aspect of pediatric pharmacology is understanding how these differences impact the pharmacokinetics of various drugs, necessitating age-specific dosing strategies to ensure efficacy and safety.Neonates and infants have a higher total body water content, ~75%–90% of their body weight, compared...
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism01:24

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism

In pediatric care, understanding the nuances of hepatic drug metabolism is crucial, as it significantly differs from that of adults. This divergence is primarily due to the developmental stage of drug-metabolizing enzymes, which affects how medications are processed in the body. In neonates, for instance, the activity of Phase I enzymes—critical for the initial breakdown of drugs—is markedly reduced, functioning at just 20–40% of the levels seen in adults. This reduction poses a challenge in...