A forgotten vulnerable group: Canadian children visiting relatives in the developing world

Direct Medical Costs of 3 Reportable Travel-Related Infections in Ontario, Canada, 2012–2014

“…Immigrant travelers who return to their birth countries to visit friends or relatives are a substantial risk group ( 5 ). In Canada and elsewhere, regions with high proportions of immigrant travelers to South Asia and Africa have the highest rates of imported cases of hepatitis A, malaria, and enteric fever ( 4 , 6 – 8 ). The disproportionate burden of travel-related infections in immigrants has been attributed to their traveling to riskier destinations ( 9 ) and prolonged travel stays ( 10 , 11 ) but also to their poor uptake of pretravel health services ( 10 , 12 – 14 ).…”

“…The cost of pretravel health services has been described by VFR travelers as a barrier ( 9 , 19 – 22 ). As a result, public health officials have advocated for universal coverage of pretravel health services to reduce the substantial public health resources required for the management of these imported cases ( 6 , 23 ).…”