Travel-related infections

Abstract

In response to a massive increase in international travel, the 1990s has seen the development of organizations such as The International Society of Travel Medicine and The British Travel Health Association, which focus on and promote the health of travelers. Such organizations have an important educative role to play and it is likely that travel medicine will develop into a subspeciality of its own. While a significant proportion of the morbidity among travelers comes from noninfectious causes such as road traffic accidents and cardiovascular disease, infections continue to present a challenge to their health, more so on visits to resource-poor countries. There is increasing awareness of the role of travel in the spread of emerging infectious diseases [1Cetron M Keystone J Shlim D Steffen R Travelers' health.Emerg Infect Dis. 1998; 4: 405-407Crossref PubMed Scopus (11) Google Scholar] and the inevitable consequence that they may present as problems for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of spread in any part of the world. Thus, expertise in travel-related infection is a necessity for all those practicing clinical microbiology/infection. The CMI Editorial Board has agreed to encourage the submission of articles and original papers on travel-related infection for publication in the Journal. The first in the series, from Dr Alastair Miller, appears in this issue. Dr Miller, himself an infectious disease physician, has first-hand experience of the medical care of expeditions to remote areas of the world, which is reflected in his clear and practical analysis of the problems posed by infection on expeditions. The Editors look forward to receiving further manuscripts on infection in relation to travel.