When rabies comes up in conversations, it’s often in veterinary clinics where our pets are vaccinated against infection. Rabies however, is also a major concern for travellers. More than 150 countries report rabies in their animal population putting humans at risk. The majority of human rabies cases are reported from Asia and Africa and 99% of cases are from dog bites. The World Health Organization estimates that 55,000 people die annually, although the illness is often misdiagnosed or under-reported. On a positive note though, the WHO states that 15 million people worldwide receive the post-exposure vaccinations, preventing an estimated 327 000 deaths annually. It’s not only travellers going on eco-tourism or adventure expeditions that are at risk. In many ...

The recent dengue outbreaks, notably in the Philippines, USA (Key West), India (Delhi), and China (Guangdong province) got us thinking about why infection rates are on the increase and how the disease is spreading to areas previously believed safe from the virus. The dengue virus is primarily spread by infected female Aëdes aegypti (urban domestic) mosquitoes that bite during the day (dawn to dusk) both indoors and outdoors. The disease has become a major economic burden and serious public health concern in tropical and sub-tropical areas. According to the World Health Organization, there are approximately 50 million infections worldwide each year and 2.5 billion people are at risk of contracting dengue. However, under-reporting (because the patient did not receive ...

The recent polio (poliomyelitis) outbreaks in Central Asia (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia) are reminders of how travel and migration can contribute to the re-emergence of a disease in a region previously declared free of infection. In Tajikistan, for example, the country was declared polio free in 2002, but this year alone 239 children became paralyzed and 15 patients have died of the disease imported from India. The disturbing news is that since 2003 there have been 25 countries – originally declared polio free – that have been re-infected. (Kenya, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Cameroon, Burundi, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, and Guinea are some of the countries that have since taken steps to control the reappearance of polio.) Travellers ...