Incidence and risk factors for acute respiratory illnesses and influenza virus infections in Australian travellers to Asia
Author
Ratnam, I; Black, J; Leder, K; Biggs, B-A; Gordon, I; Matchett, E; Padiglione, A; Woolley, I; Karapanagiotidis, T; Gherardin, T; ...Date
2013-05-01Source Title
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL VIROLOGYPublisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BVUniversity of Melbourne Author/s
Black, James; Torresi, Joseph; Biggs, Beverley-Ann; GORDON, IAN; Gordon, Ian; RATNAM, IRANIAffiliation
Medicine - Royal Melbourne HospitalNossal Institute for Global Health
Metadata
Show full item recordDocument Type
Journal ArticleCitations
Ratnam, I., Black, J., Leder, K., Biggs, B. -A., Gordon, I., Matchett, E., Padiglione, A., Woolley, I., Karapanagiotidis, T., Gherardin, T., Demont, C., Luxemburger, C. & Torresi, J. (2013). Incidence and risk factors for acute respiratory illnesses and influenza virus infections in Australian travellers to Asia. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL VIROLOGY, 57 (1), pp.54-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2013.01.008.Access Status
This item is currently not available from this repositoryDescription
C1 - Journal Articles Refereed
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Respiratory infections including influenza are a common cause of acute short-term morbidity in travellers and yet the risk of these infections is poorly defined. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the incidence density of and risk factors for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) and influenza in Australian travellers to Asia. STUDY DESIGN: Travel-clinic attendees were prospectively identified and completed questionnaires (demographic data, travel itinerary, health and vaccination history) and also provided pre and post-travel serological samples for Influenza A and B (complement fixation test). Returned travellers with an ARI provided nasopharyngeal specimens for RT-PCR identification of respiratory viruses. RESULTS: In this cohort (n = 387) of predominantly (72%) short-term travellers, 58% were female, the median age was 37 years and 69% were tourists. ARIs occurred in 109 travellers (28%) translating to an incidence of 106.4 ARIs per 10,000 traveller days (95% confidence interval CI 88.6-126.7). The traveller type of missionary or aid worker was a risk factor for acquiring an ARI (p = 0.03) and ARIs occurred early (< 30 days) in the travel period (p = 0.001). Four travellers (1%) acquired influenza A during travel translating to an incidence density of 3.4 infections per 10,000 days of travel (95% CI 1.4-8.6). Influenza vaccination was reported in 49% of travellers with a 3.5-fold higher incidence of influenza in unvaccinated travellers compared to vaccinated travellers (p = 0.883). CONCLUSIONS: This is one of the largest prospective studies estimating the incidence of respiratory infections in travellers. These findings have important implications for practitioners advising prospective travellers and for public health authorities.
Keywords
Epidemiology; Infectious DiseasesExport Reference in RIS Format
Endnote
- Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format" and choose "open with... Endnote".
Refworks
- Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format". Login to Refworks, go to References => Import References