Spectrum of Dermatoses in 165 Travelers Returning From the Tropics With Skin Diseases

Abstract

The spectrum of dermatoses occurring in travelers returning from tropical areas is poorly documented. We analyzed the relative frequency of travel-associated dermatoses and their possible relationships to travel characteristics in all persons who came to our hospital between November 2002 and May 2003 for a cutaneous disorder related to travel in a tropical country. One hundred sixty-five travelers were included. The main dermatoses identified were infectious cellulitis (12.7%), scabies (10.3%), and pruritus of unknown origin (PUO) (9.1%). Tropical dermatoses accounted for 33.9% of the cutaneous disorders. Univariate analysis showed statistically significant correlations of infectious cellulitis with females, PUO with older age and immigrant status, pyoderma with expatriate status, scabies with tourism and travel to Africa, myiasis with tourism and travel to Africa and America, filariasis with travel to Africa and immigrant status, and cutaneous larva migrans with tourism. Dermatoses diagnosed in travelers returning from the tropics seemed to be influenced by traveler status and region visited.

Comparison of Antifungal Activity of Extracts of Ten Plant Species and Griseofulvin Against Human Pathogenic Dermatophytes

“…Sulphite being a reducing agent broke the disulphide bonds of keratin protein and made them more vulnerable to fungal proteases enzymes. The diseases caused by dermatophytes are also known as dermatoses and their prevalence depend upon the activity of peoples [8]. Human infections, particularly those involving the skin and mucosal surface constitute a serious problem, especially in tropical and subtropical developing countries; dermatophytes and Candida spp.…”

Tropical Skin Infections Among Israeli Travelers

“…This high rate is about five times higher compared with reports of travelers from other Western countries. 3,5,7 Another unique aspect in our leishmaniasis cases is that almost all of our cases were related to Leishmania braziliensis (91.4%), which was acquired in the Madidi National Park in the Amazon basin in Bolivia. Our explanation for this phenomenon is the fact that a popular, almost cult, Israeli book entitled Back from Tuichi popularized this destination among young Israeli travelers.…”

“…3,[5][6][7] It is most commonly seen in returning travelers from the Caribbean region. 3 In our study, CLM accounts for 15.4% of all the cases and was acquired mainly in Thailand and Brazil, with a male predominance of 68.2%.…”

“…5 Skin infections are an important cause of cutaneous problems in travelers during and after return, including non-tropical (cosmopolitan) skin infections caused by bacterial, fungal, and ecto-parasites and tropical skin infections such as cutaneous leishmaniasis, myiasis, and cutaneous larva migrans. [5][6][7][8] Knowledge of the relative frequency of travel-related skin infections together with their geographic and demographic risk factors may allow for effective pretravel counseling as well as improved post-travel diagnosis and care.…”

Skin lesions in returning travellers

“…Skin infection caused by hookworms, is one of the most common in travellers returning from the tropics [43], especially from sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean (the most common countries include Brazil, Jamaica, Malaysia and Thailand) [44,45]. According to selective studies the rates of cutaneous larva migrans among travellers range from 5% up to 25% [2,8,22,46]. The incidence of CLM follows a seasonal pattern, with more infections occurring during the rainy seasons [47].…”