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Background: Previous studies have described travel-related infections among Canadians; however, a provincial-level analysis of British Columbians has not been published. Methods: We extracted and analyzed data from the Canadian Travel Medicine Network database for returning ill British Columbian travelers who presented to a GeoSentinel surveillance network site between March 2009 and September 2018. Results: In total, 1153 ill travelers were assigned travel-related diagnoses; of those, 37% (n = 426) required inpatient management. The most common diagnoses (n = 1494) were tuberculosis (n = 174, 12%), malaria (n = 89, 6%), and enteric fever (n = 81, 5%). British Columbians who traveled to visit friends and relatives were disproportionally represented among travelers diagnosed with malaria (n = 35/89, 39%) and enteric fever (n = 69/81, 85%). Conclusions: International travel introduces British Columbia residents to risk of communicable, preventable, and potentially life-threatening infectious diseases, which could be mitigated by promoting pretravel consultation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lyme disease, caused by the tick-borne spirochete bacterium Borrelia spp., is becoming increasingly prevalent in Canada. Lyme carditis is a rare but important early disseminated manifestation of the disease, which can present with high-degree atrioventricular block in otherwise healthy young adults. Timely treatment of Lyme carditis with appropriate antibiotics can lead to complete resolution. However, patients with Lyme carditis often have missed or late diagnoses, which can result in unnecessary pacemaker implantations, complications, and even fatalities. Consider ing Lyme carditis in the differential diagnosis of young patients presenting with new atrioventricular blocks is critical to ensuring timely diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]