ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Before the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, cruise travel had experienced exponential growth in the preceding decade. Travel medicine practitioners were increasingly called upon to provide pre-cruise travel advice and medical clearance. Demand for these services will return at some time in the future. METHODS: The clinical conditions seen in those presenting for care on six small-vessel scientific cruises to Antarctica were analysed. RESULTS: Personnel presented on 196 occasions resulting in 257 consultations (when initial plus all follow-up consultations were included). Personnel presented with a clinical condition at a rate of 17.9 per 1000 person-days at sea. The total consultation rate was 23.5 per 1000 person-days at sea. Injury accounted for 24% of all presentations at a rate of 4.3 per 1000 person-days at sea. Dermatological, soft tissue and musculoskeletal, general malaise and motion sickness were the four most common presentations. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-cruise advice for travellers planning small-vessel cruises to polar regions needs to include skin care, prevention and management of sea sickness and how to reduce the risk of injury. Those providing medical care on such cruises should be prepared to manage a wide range of clinical presentations.
Subject(s)
Referral and Consultation/statistics & numerical data , Ships , Travel Medicine/statistics & numerical data , Antarctic Regions , Humans , Infections/epidemiology , Infections/therapy , Motion Sickness/epidemiology , Motion Sickness/therapy , Skin Diseases/epidemiology , Skin Diseases/therapy , Wounds and Injuries/epidemiology , Wounds and Injuries/therapySubject(s)
Air Travel/statistics & numerical data , COVID-19 , Disease Transmission, Infectious , Masks , SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purification , Travel Medicine , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , COVID-19/transmission , COVID-19 Testing/methods , COVID-19 Testing/statistics & numerical data , Disease Transmission, Infectious/prevention & control , Disease Transmission, Infectious/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Infection Control/instrumentation , Infection Control/methods , Masks/standards , Masks/statistics & numerical data , Risk Assessment , Travel Medicine/methods , Travel Medicine/standards , Travel Medicine/statistics & numerical dataABSTRACT
The French society of clinical biology "Biochemical markers of COVID-19" has set up a working group with the primary aim of reviewing, analyzing and monitoring the evolution of biological prescriptions according to the patient's care path and to look for markers of progression and severity of the disease. This study covers all public and private sectors of medical biology located in metropolitan and overseas France and also extends to the French-speaking world. This article presents the testimonies and data obtained for the "Overseas and French-speaking countries" sub-working group made up of 45 volunteer correspondents, located in 20 regions of the world. In view of the delayed spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the overseas regions and the French-speaking regions have benefited from feedback from the first territories confronted with COVID-19. Thus, the entry of the virus or its spread in epidemic form could be avoided, thanks to the rapid closure of borders. The overseas territories depend very strongly on air and/or sea links with the metropolis or with the neighboring continent. The isolation of these countries is responsible for reagent supply difficulties and has necessitated emergency orders and the establishment of stocks lasting several months, in order to avoid shortages and maintain adequate patient care. In addition, in countries located in tropical or intertropical zones, the diagnosis of COVID-19 is complicated by the presence of various zoonoses (dengue, Zika, malaria, leptospirosis, etc.).
Subject(s)
Clinical Laboratory Services , Coronavirus Infections/diagnosis , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Coronavirus Infections/therapy , Global Health/statistics & numerical data , Pneumonia, Viral/diagnosis , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Pneumonia, Viral/therapy , Travel Medicine/organization & administration , Adult , Africa/epidemiology , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Belgium/epidemiology , Betacoronavirus/physiology , Biomarkers/analysis , Biomarkers/blood , COVID-19 , Cambodia/epidemiology , Child , Clinical Laboratory Services/organization & administration , Clinical Laboratory Services/statistics & numerical data , Contact Tracing/methods , Contact Tracing/statistics & numerical data , Coronavirus Infections/transmission , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , France/epidemiology , Hospitalization/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Islands/epidemiology , Language , Laos/epidemiology , Louisiana/epidemiology , Male , Medical Laboratory Personnel/organization & administration , Medical Laboratory Personnel/statistics & numerical data , Middle Aged , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/transmission , Retrospective Studies , SARS-CoV-2 , Surveys and Questionnaires , Survival Analysis , Travel Medicine/methods , Travel Medicine/statistics & numerical data , Travel-Related Illness , Tropical Climate , Tropical Medicine/methods , Tropical Medicine/organization & administration , Tropical Medicine/statistics & numerical data , Vietnam/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The emergence and international spread of SARS-CoV-2 led to unprecedented challenges for international travelers including health-related concerns and international travel restrictions. Remarkably, overseas travelers consulted at our travel clinic during the first quarter of 2020 were apparently not disconcerted by the evolving pandemic with a continuously high rate of consultations at our center; 85% of travelers did not actively inquire about COVID-19 during the pretravel consultation including individuals with clinically significant immunosuppression constituting a high-risk group for COVID-19-related adverse health outcome. This experience demonstrates the societal responsibility of travel medicine practitioners to proactively provide unbiased information about the health-related and travel-related impact of newly emerging infections.