Mosquito‐Borne Illnesses in Travelers: A Review of Risk and Prevention

Abstract

In 2008, residents of the United States made 12 million visits to developing countries in Asia, South America, Central America, Oceania, the Middle East, and Africa. Due to the presence of Anopheles, Aedes, and Culex mosquitoes, travel to these destinations poses a risk for diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, and Japanese encephalitis that cause significant morbidity and mortality. To gain a better understanding of the major emerging and established travel-related infectious diseases transmitted principally by mosquitoes and the measures for their prevention in U.S. residents who travel to these developing countries, we performed a literature search of the PubMed and MEDLINE databases (January 1950-February 2010). Information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization and relevant references from the publications identified were also reviewed. Vaccines for the prevention of Japanese encephalitis and yellow fever are commercially available to U.S. travelers and should be administered when indicated. However, the prevention of malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya, and West Nile virus relies on personal insect protection measures and chemoprophylaxis for malaria. As the rate of international travel continues to rise, individuals traveling overseas should be made aware of the risk of various infectious diseases and the importance of prevention. Physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and other practitioners can play a vital role in disease education and prevention, including the administration of vaccines and provision of chemoprophylactic drugs.

Knowledge and Attitude of Travellers Regarding Yellow Fever Vaccination

“…It is endemic to countries in South America and sub-Saharan Africa. 1 Yellow fever has a high global morbidity and mortality. 2 Most of the yellow fever infections are not recognized because of the inadequate surveillance and reporting.…”

Travel- and immigration-related problems in rheumatology

“…The incubation period of chikungunya ranges from 2 to 12 days [10]. Many people infected with chikungunya will remain asymptomatic, and the disease is rarely fatal.…”

“…The clinical presentation is very similar to that of dengue fever, the most common symptoms consisting of fever, arthralgia, backache and headache. Other symptoms include rash, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and myalgias [10]. The joint symptoms of chikungunya are severe and often debilitating, lasting from weeks to up to a year, with the hands and feet most often affected, but the lower limbs and back can also be involved.…”

Mosquito transgênico: do paper para a realidade

“…Estimativas apontam que mosquitos são responsáveis pela infecção de 700 milhões de pessoas no mundo, anualmente, atingindo principalmente regiões equatoriais, tropicais e subtropicais. (Gubler 1998(Gubler , 2002Mirzaian, et al 2010).…”

“…Estimativas apontam que mosquitos são responsáveis pela infecção de 700 milhões de pessoas no mundo, anualmente, atingindo principalmente regiões equatoriais, tropicais e subtropicais. (Gubler 1998(Gubler , 2002Mirzaian, et al 2010).As fêmeas desses insetos são as responsáveis pela transmissão desses patógenos, pois elas dependem da ingestão de sangue para completar o desenvolvimento dos ovos. Ao picar animais infectados, o mosquito ingere sangue contaminado e passa a hospedar esses patógenos, que escapam dos processos digestivos e se tornam capazes invadir e migrar para a glândula salivar onde irão permanecer até o próximo repasto sanguíneo, quando serão inoculados com a saliva do inseto.…”