Respiratory infections in the traveler

The growth of travel of recent years has been unprecedented and presents new challenges to health professionals world-wide. More travelers of diverse backgrounds are visiting exotic locales rarely encountered before. This poses new risks to health, in addition to potentially aiding the spread of emerging respiratory infections. Travelers such as immunocompromised individuals and members of ethnic minorities are at significant risk for travel-related infections. Respiratory illnesses are some of the most common infections affecting human beings, yet little information has been published on them in relation to travel. Multidisciplinary approaches and collaboration across different sectors are needed to address the many issues involved in travel-related respiratory infections. This article discusses some of the topical issues of respiratory tract infections occurring in travelers.