Travel-associated health risks in children: Vaccination, antimalarial prophylaxis, traveller's diarrhoea, other infectious risks
Abstract
An increasing trend in the number of adults and children travelling from developed countries to epidemiologically risky areas has been observed in the recent years. The majority is represented by tourists, however, a significant proportion of people travel for work or visit their friends and relatives.
Many of the travel-related health risks are similar both in children and adults. However, during a pre-travel consultation it is necessary to respect major differences between these two age groups.
Many infectious diseases have atypical manifestation or even more severe clinical course in children. In addition, some commonly used vaccines are not immunogenic in infants and toddlers and many of them are used in different schedules.
Furthermore, the choice of antimalarials must respect the age limits for prescription. Due to the increasing number of travellers it can be presumed that primary care physicians will be facing the travel-related health problems more frequently.