[Recent evolution of travel medicine in France and in the world]

The purpose of this study is to show the different steps which have to led to the individualization of this discipline. The necessity of Travel Medicine is a result of the rapid expansion in international and intercontinental travel, in the development of means of prevention of risks linked to this increased travel, in modification made in the doctor-traveler relationship, and in the updating of everchanging epidemiological data. A strategy was developed in France, taking into account all components involved, leading to the creation of the French Travel Medicine Society in 1993. This society can be as an example abroad. The International Society of Travel Medicine was founded in 1992, Atlanta. Travel Medicine has always existed, but the organisation of its structures and especially the training of specialists has to be reconsidered. The main goal of Travel Medicine is the prevention, through information, of medical risks while travelling. This discipline is first and foremost a matter of Public Health. Investigation of this domain is far from complete.