CFP Travel Medicine

07/17/2024

Chad has officially eliminated Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) transmitted by the tsetse fly.

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is caused by parasites and spread through the bite of the tsetse fly.

05/31/2024

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/05/113_375643.html

A woman has died after contracting Vibrio vulnificus, in Korea's first fatal case of the bacterial infection this year, health officials said on Wednesday. ...

05/28/2024

Thoroughly cook your meat.

This report describes human trichinellosis cases associated with eating black bear meat.

05/24/2024

Sadly, two yellow fever deaths in northern Bolivia are reported here. Keep those affected in your prayers.

For travelers to the Amazon basin region in South America, yellow fever vaccine is an important vaccine to consider.

I was notified of this via ProMED (https://promedmail.org/). They make a very important point in their communication:

"Although these 2 YF cases may not seem epidemiologically significant, it is an important indicator that the virus is circulating in a given area and provides warning to public health officials that other individuals in that location are at risk of infection and should be vaccinated in order to prevent additional cases. YF vaccination is the best preventive measure."

Durante las primeras semanas de mayo, el Servicio Departamental de Salud (SEDES)...

04/29/2024

The April 2024 edition of the ISTM Newsletter, Travel Medicine News, is now available! In this edition, we share thoughtful updates from ISTM President Gerard Flaherty, Secretary-Treasurer Mike Jone

02/14/2024

Happy Valentine's Day! ❤️

Did you know that the "kissing bug," also known as a triatomine bug, is considered a vector for the parasite responsible for the potentially severe disease called Chagas disease?

Transmission may occur when an infected "kissing bug" bites the face of someone while sleeping, sucks some blood, and leaves behind f***s which can harbor the parasite and be infectious if it enters the person's body.

These bugs can be found in parts of the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America.

References:
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/gen_info/vectors/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/gen_info/detailed.html
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2020/travel-related-infectious-diseases/trypanosomiasis-american-chagas-disease

Photo credit:
Gabriel L. Hamer, https://kissingbug.tamu.edu/found-a-bug/

02/07/2024

Our latest blog post deals with how to safely travel overseas with food allergies.

What's the wildest thing you've consumed in your travels? 😋

How to safely eat while traveling internationally for those with known food allergies. Deep fried crickets. Image by SadiaK123 from Pixabay Travel medicine often focuses on preventing infectious diseases: think malaria, dengue fever, and travelers’ diarrhea. And rightly so, as these are important ...

01/25/2024

This is a great infographic about food and beverage safety while traveling internationally.

01/23/2024

Our Winter 2023/2024 issue of Travel Health News is now available online. This is a small magazine published quarterly featuring two topics relating to travel medicine.

This quarter's topics include a Q&A on what travel medicine is and a review of dengue fever.

If you have a topic you're interested in, let us know and we may feature it in a future issue.

(P.S. The banner ad at the bottom is through the digital magazine service, not CFP Travel Medicine. Travel Health News is free for all!)

A newsletter from CFP Travel Medicine.

01/23/2024

Beware of consuming raw oysters originating from Baja California and Bahia Salina in Mexico.

FDA Advisories:
https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-advises-restaurants-and-retailers-not-serve-or-sell-and-consumers-not-eat-certain-oysters-baja

https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-advises-restaurants-and-retailers-not-serve-or-sell-and-consumers-not-eat-certain-oysters-bahia

CDC's Current Alerts and Advisories for Norovirus Outbreaks: https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/outbreaks/index.html

FDA Advises Restaurants and Retailers Not to Serve or Sell and Consumers Not to Eat Certain Oysters from Bahia Salina in Sonora, Mexico Potentially Contaminated with Norovirus

12/22/2023

Have you ever heard of Odyssean malaria? Check out our recent article to learn about this rare and interesting way of getting malaria -- a potentially severe and deadly mosquito-borne infection.

Like the legendary Greek character Odysseus, who traveled far from home, Odyssean malaria is caused by mosquitoes that have traveled from their usual home (unlike Odysseus, these mosquitoes likely don’t return home). Odysseus traveled by ship and land, whereas these mosquitoes may hitch a ride in ...