Arboviral and other illnesses in travellers returning from Brazil, June 2013 to May 2016: implications for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Abstract

We evaluated EuroTravNet (a GeoSentinel subnetwork) data from June 2013 to May 2016 on 508 ill travellers returning from Brazil, to inform a risk analysis for Europeans visiting the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brazil. Few dengue fever cases (n = 3) and no cases of chikungunya were documented during the 2013-15 Brazilian winter months, August and September, the period when the Games will be held. The main diagnoses were dermatological (37%), gastrointestinal (30%), febrile systemic illness (29%) and respiratory (11%).

Fever in the Returning Traveler

“…Other common laboratory findings include leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. 33 Treatment consists of hydration and avoidance of salicylate-containing products to decrease the risk for bleeding. 32 Children who develop severe dengue with hemorrhage and shock may require blood products.…”

Mobile populations across the Mediterranean Sea and beyond: travel medicine, mass gathering medicine and homeless health

“…For instance, the circulation pattern of dengue was identified in the Comoros and Zanzibar thanks to sentinel travellers [13] . Surveillance data also provide reliable data on which to base risk assessment for specific destinations or events like the 2016 Olympics in Brazil [14] .…”

Note from the editors: Articles on Zika preparedness

“…However, given that the Games will take place during the winter season in Rio, when mosquito populations will be reduced, the risk of imported mosquito-borne infections such as Zika vrus disease, dengue and chikungunya is expected to be very low [4]. An article from EuroTravNet, published in Eurosurveillance last week, supported these conclusions based on observations in travellers returning from Brazil between June 2013 and May 2016 [5].…”