TO MAKE YOUR VACATION SAFE
In order not to bring exotic infections, you need to prepare for a vacation in countries with a hot climate. What infectious diseases are most common in countries with hot climates?
The most common infectious diseases are yellow fever, Dengue fever, West Nile fever, typhoid fever, cholera, and malaria. Tropical diseases are insidious, often masquerading as the common cold, bowel disorder, and even allergies. Imported cases of tropical diseases began to be registered in the Lipetsk region, so in 2013 - Dengue fever and West Nile fever.
Dengue fever is a viral infection that affects everyone: both young children and adults. The source of the disease is an infected person, monkeys, bats, and the carriers are mosquitoes. The symptoms of the disease are similar to those of the flu and appear on average 4-7 days after a mosquito bite. The patient's temperature rises to 38-40°C, there is a headache, pain in the eyeballs, in the muscles, in the joints, in the lower back, and lymph nodes increase. A characteristic symptom of Dengue fever is a hemorrhagic rash on the trunk and on the limbs. The severe form of the disease occurs with intradermal hemorrhages, gastrointestinal bleeding. This requires immediate medical attention. Dengue fever can be brought from Thailand, China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Egypt, Singapore.
Yellow fever-the source of infection is monkeys, marsupial rodents, insectivores, and a person can also get infected, as in the previous case, from a mosquito bite, but in the absence of a vector, a sick person is not dangerous to others. After 3-6 days (less often 9-10 days) after a mosquito bite, the first symptoms of the disease appear: the body temperature rises to 40°C. headache, body aches, possible vomiting, delirium, hallucinations and impaired consciousness. Especially affected are the kidneys (the amount of daily urine decreases), the heart (cardiac activity is disrupted), the liver and spleen (jaundice and liver failure develop). When traveling to a country that is affected by yellow fever, the traveler must be vaccinated against yellow fever 6 weeks before departure, persons who have received yellow fever vaccination receive an international certificate. Countries affected by yellow fever are Egypt, Thailand, Maldives, Tunisia, Brazil, Mali, Sudan, and Argentina.
West Nile Fever (WNV) — this is a viral infection that occurs in a person with a temperature of 38-40°C, with the development of inflammatory changes in the membranes of the brain (meningitis) and the substance of the brain (meningoencephalitis). Symptoms: high fever, headache, with localization in the forehead and eyeballs, muscle pain. In 50% of patients, there are signs of damage to the nervous system: against the background of headache, repeated vomiting, which does not bring relief to the patient, scattered neurological symptoms. Countries affected by West Nile Fever-countries in Africa and Asia, Israel, Egypt, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania.
In the Russian Federation: Astrakhan, Volgograd, Rostov, Voronezh, Saratov regions, Stavropol Territory.
Cholera is a bacterial infection that occurs with diarrhea and, as a result, dehydration of the body. There are three ways of infection: water - the use of non-disinfected water for drinking, bathing in unauthorized open water bodies; food - the use of food products with insufficient heat treatment, the use of fish, shrimp, crayfish, crabs, etc.; contact-household - contact with a patient with diarrhea. The result of the disease is the loss of fluid and salts, which leads to dehydration and such clinical manifestations as: low blood pressure, reduced excretory function of the kidneys and the development of kidney failure. Countries affected by cholera: India, Nigeria, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic.
Malaria is a serious disease that occurs with a high temperature of up to 40°C, chills, headaches, muscle pain, and an increase in the size of the liver and spleen. The source of infection is a sick person or a parasite carrier, and the carrier of this tropical disease is mosquitoes.
In recent years, the number of cases of imported malaria in people who have visited "malarial" countries has been increasing. In this regard, the World Health Organization has developed several "golden rules" concerning the prevention of malaria:
- take an antimalarial drug one week before entering a country that is not safe for malaria, during the entire period of stay and within 4 weeks after leaving the danger zone.
- knowing the symptoms of the disease and the sudden appearance of fever and other above-mentioned manifestations, immediately consult a doctor, telling him what country you have visited, as malaria can develop a year after returning from a trip, even if prevention was carried out with antimalarial drugs.
- It should be remembered that malaria can lead to death in less than 48 hours after the first symptoms appear.
Malaria is reported in Afghanistan, Brazil, India, Vietnam, Thailand, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates.
Typhoid fever-common in Africa, in India. You can get infected through water or food. The first symptoms are a high fever, a rash on the skin, the intestines are affected, the insidiousness of the disease in its complications.
Specific protection against typhoid fever is vaccination, you need to make 1 injection 2 weeks before the trip. Immunity is developed in 1-2 weeks and persists for 5 years.
In India, Thailand, and African countries, helminthiasis is common. Infection occurs not only through food and dirty hands, but also through the skin-when walking on the ground or sand, or on reservoirs. It is recommended to wear special shoes when swimming and walking in the coastal strip.
What needs to be done to avoid these terrible diseases?
Before traveling to countries with a tropical climate, you should consult a doctor and get medical advice about the epidemiological state of the country you are planning to visit, whether there is a risk of infection and what diseases.
The doctor will tell you in detail about the threats that await the traveler, help you collect a first aid kit for the road to provide first aid (antipyretics, decontaminating agents, remedies for diarrhea, insect bites, allergies) and tell you what vaccinations you need to do so that the rest is without consequences. When traveling to countries in Asia, Africa, and South America, vaccinations against hepatitis "A" and "B", typhoid fever, and yellow fever are required. Also remember that you need to eat only in food outlets that are officially allowed, where products of an industrial manufacturer are used. Drink only bottled or boiled water, wash vegetables and fruits only with boiled or bottled water. Use repellents, avoid contact with blood-sucking insects, they are also carriers of infectious diseases. You can get a consultation in the vaccination department of our hospital.
Chief Freelance Specialist in infectious Diseases in children
health departments of the Lipetsk region,
head of department No. 1
GUZ " Lipetsk Regional Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital»,
Belyaeva Tatyana Ivanovna
