Back to Search
Start Over
Imported schistosomiasis in travelers: Experience from a referral tropical medicine unit in Barcelona, Spain.
- Source :
-
Travel medicine and infectious disease [Travel Med Infect Dis] 2024 Jul-Aug; Vol. 60, pp. 102742. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jul 10. - Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- Background: Acute schistosomiasis occurs most often in travelers to endemic regions. The aim of the study is to describe the epidemiological, clinical and parasitological characteristics of patients with schistosomiasis acquired during an international travel.<br />Methods: Observational retrospective study including all travel-related schistosomiasis cases seen at the International Health Unit Vall d'Hebron-Drassanes (Barcelona, Spain) from 2009 to 2022. Diagnosis of schistosomiasis was defined by the presence of Schistosoma eggs in stools or urine or the positivity of a serological test. We collected demographic, epidemiological, clinical, parasitological, and therapeutic information.<br />Results: 917 cases of schistosomiasis were diagnosed, from whom 96 (10.5 %) were travel-related. Mean age of the patients was 34.9 years, and 53.1 % were women. Median duration of the travel was 72 days, and geographical areas where travelers had contact with fresh water were Africa (82.3 %), Asia (12.5 %), and South America (5.2 %). Twenty (20.8 %) patients reported having had some clinical symptom, being gastrointestinal symptoms the most frequent. Two patients developed the classical Katayama syndrome. In eleven (11.5 %) cases eggs were observed in urine or feces samples, and 85 (88.5 %) cases were diagnosed by a positive serology. Ninety-one (94.8 %) patients received treatment with praziquantel with different therapeutic schemes. The two patients with Katayama syndrome received concomitant treatment with corticosteroids.<br />Conclusions: Schistosomiasis in travelers represented 10 % of the overall schistosomiasis cases in our center. Increasing the awareness in the pre-travel advice and implementing specific screening in those travelers at risk (long travelers, contact with fresh water) could reduce the incidence and associated morbidity in this group.<br />Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.<br /> (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
- Subjects :
- Humans
Spain epidemiology
Female
Male
Retrospective Studies
Adult
Middle Aged
Praziquantel therapeutic use
Communicable Diseases, Imported epidemiology
Communicable Diseases, Imported parasitology
Communicable Diseases, Imported diagnosis
Communicable Diseases, Imported drug therapy
Feces parasitology
Animals
Anthelmintics therapeutic use
Young Adult
Adolescent
Schistosomiasis epidemiology
Schistosomiasis diagnosis
Schistosomiasis drug therapy
Travel
Tropical Medicine
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1873-0442
- Volume :
- 60
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Travel medicine and infectious disease
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 38996855
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2024.102742