Travel health

Advertising

Unit 603

April 2023

Travel health

The purpose of this check edition is to educate GPs on managing patients considering overseas travel and the investigation and management of health risks following travel.

International travel can pose various health risks to travellers, and it is important that travellers adequately prepare for potential health risks that they can be exposed to while travelling, including animal/insect bites, exposure to blood/other bodily fluids, environmental changes (eg altitude, temperature), food- and water-borne disease, available medical services, injuries and psychological health.

People planning to travel should seek advice about how to best protect their health and reduce their risk of acquiring disease, some of which, but not all, can be prevented by vaccinations.

The following factors should be considered when determining the health risks of international travel:

  • mode of transport
  • destination
  • duration and season of travel
  • purpose of travels
  • accommodation standard, food hygiene, sanitation
  • underlying health issues.

The Australian Government’s smartraveller website provides travel advice for all Australians, including a pre-travel checklist, and advice on how to take care of your health while you are away and how the Australian Government can help Australians overseas.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this activity, participants will be able to:

  • discuss preventive measures for people wanting to travel overseas
  • explain the benefits of vaccination prior to travel and communicate that vaccination does not protect against all infectious diseases
  • outline the health risks for people with existing conditions wanting to travel overseas
  • identify appropriate investigations for people returning overseas who present with symptoms
  • outline the differential diagnoses for people presenting with symptoms after returning from overseas.

Case studies

Below is a list of the case studies found in this month's edition of check. To see how these case studies unfold and gain valuable insights into this months topic, log into gplearning to complete the course.

Marina, aged 25 years, presents for pre-travel health advice six weeks before a planned trip to Cambodia. She is particularly keen to get your advice on which vaccines she should receive pre-travel, and what else she could do to reduce her risk of health issues during travel.

Sam, aged 40 years, is a software engineer. He presents with fever, which he has had for three days. He has recently returned from a holiday in India and Sri Lanka. He spent one week in India followed by three weeks in Sri Lanka, where he visited the capital city and rural areas in the north and south of the country before returning to Australia. He migrated to Australia seven years earlier. He has no history of any significant medical problems and is not on any regular medications. He lives in his own apartment.

Lily, aged 23 years, presents the day after returning from a holiday in Bali. She was there with her partner for a short holiday. On the second day of their holiday, they went to a restaurant for lunch and, while Lily was playing with the restaurant owner’s dog, the dog jumped up and bit her on the forearm. She went to a medical clinic later that afternoon, where she was given a dose of Rabivax. It has been four days since these events took place.

Jacob, aged 24 years, is a patient known to you and your practice. He presents with a new rash ‘all over’ that he first noticed about four days earlier. It is not itchy. He has been feeling otherwise well; he has not had any febrile, coryzal, respiratory or other symptoms. He has not had contact with anyone that he knows of who has had a rash or been unwell. He tells you that he has recently returned home to Australia after 12 months in the UK on a working holiday.

Amy, aged 27 years, is a registered nurse and midwife, and is pregnant for the first time. She is 15 weeks pregnant and is planning to visit Kenya and Uganda on an organised tour to visit the gorillas when she is 18 weeks pregnant.

CPD

This unit of check is approved for 10 hours of CPD activity (two hours per case). The 10 hours, when completed, including the online questions, comprise five hours’ 鲍鱼视频al Activities and five hours’ Reviewing Performance.
 
鲍鱼视频al
Activities
5
hours
Measuring
Outcomes
0
hours
Reviewing
Performance
5
hours

Complete check online

To enroll in this check unit online: 

  1. Log into  home page
  2. Select 'Browse' and search for 448934
  3. Select the course and register

Please note: If you're not a member of the RACGP or don't have a check subscription, click here.

TOPICS

Infectious diseasesTravel medicine

Advertising