Multicenter EuroTravNet/GeoSentinel Study of Travel-related Infectious Diseases in Europe

Abstract

We analyzed prospective data on 17,228 European patients who sought treatment at GeoSentinel sites from 1997 to 2007. Gastrointestinal illness (particularly in tourists), fever (those visiting friends and relatives [VFRs]), and skin disorders (in tourists) were the most common reasons for seeking medical care. Diagnoses varied by country of origin, region visited, or categories of travelers. VFRs who returned from sub-Saharan Africa and Indian Ocean islands were more likely to experience falciparum malaria than any other group. Multiple correspondence analysis identified Italian, French, and Swiss VFRs and expatriate travelers to sub-Saharan Africa and Indian Ocean Islands as most likely to exhibit febrile illnesses. German tourists to Southeast and south-central Asia were most likely to seek treatment for acute diarrhea. Non-European travelers (12,663 patients from other industrialized countries) were less likely to acquire certain travel-associated infectious diseases. These results should be considered in the practice of travel medicine and development of health recommendations for European travelers.

Spectrum of Imported Infectious Diseases: A Comparative Prevalence Study of 16,817 German Travelers and 977 Immigrants from the Tropics and Subtropics

“…Consequently, no exact calculations on relative risk could be provided by this study. However, in contrast to the other studies using large numbers of patients, which were multicentric, [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] this study provides uniformity in patient referral patterns, consistency in coding of diagnoses by clinicians, and central laboratory reference facilities. [22][23][24][25][26][27] As all patients were subject of the same standardized process, maximal comparability of the data was possible in this comparative prevalence study.…”

“…9,10 Several studies have shown that the most prevalent symptoms among travelers and immigrants were diarrhea, fever, and skin disorders. 6,11,[18][19][20] In some studies that compared travelers with immigrants whose purpose of travel was VFR, the risk of acute diarrhea was higher among travelers, whereas the risk for malaria and viral hepatitis was higher among VFRs. 21 The findings mentioned above were considered when patients consulted the Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine (DITM) of the University of Munich, Germany.…”

“…Studies performed by GeoSentinel Surveillance analyzed large samples of more than 7,600 migrants and 82,800 travelers, with data collected from more than 40 sites on six continents, although none of these studies compared imported IDs among travelers and immigrants with a sample size as large as this study. [9][10][11][12][13][14] EuroTravNet is a European network that has collected data from more than 15 European sites and published studies with sample sizes of up to more than 900 migrants and 32,000 travelers. [15][16][17] As multicenter studies, these networks analyzed data of a highly heterogeneous international population, and consequently the comparability between the different study groups, such as type of travel or immigrants, was limited.…”

Outbreaks associated to large open air festivals, including music festivals, 1980 to 2012

“…Mobile phones, particularly mobile internet use, facilitate the availability of real-time information at any time and nearly anywhere in the world to the general public and may be useful in this context [4]. Surveillance could also be operated through specialised networks reporting on travelassociated diseases, including GeoSentinel [40] and EuroTravnet [41]; however participation to large scale open air festival and MGs is not documented specifically at the moment in these databases.…”

Pre-Travel Vaccinations and Malaria Prophylaxis for International Travelers

“…[32][33][34] According to the GeoSentinel surveillance network database, the risk for acquiring malaria per region visited was higher in sub-Saharan Africa followed by Oceania, South Asia, Central America, Southeast Asia and South America. 35 Analysis of malaria imported into eight European countries from the Indian subcontinent, led to a consensus statement by the TropNet group recommending that non-selective prescription of prophylaxis for visitors to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka should be dropped.…”