Parasitic Infections in Individuals Travelling to America and Precautionary Measures

Over the past decade, the number of international travels has increased. Hence, the risk of transmission of parasitic diseases has also increased. One of the risk infections is malaria; Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum species can be transmitted. The distribution of leishmaniasis cases has been reported from the south of USA to the north of Argentina. Approximately 57,000 cases of cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis occur annually, and approximately 4000 visceral leishmaniasis cases are observed. It is reported that Chagas disease is endemic in 21 countries, and approximately 6 million people are affected every year. In this continent, 25 million people are at a risk of schistosomiasis, and most (90%) are living in Brazil. According to the World Health Organization, individuals travelling to Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, and Venezuela are at a risk of onchocerciasis as well as infecting approximately 12.6 million individuals with lymphatic filariasis (80% in Haiti). Significant mortality and morbidity can be observed in cases where necessary precautions are not taken in individuals travelling to these regions and where appropriate prophylactic drugs are not administered.