15 - Travel Related Infections Flashcards
(42 cards)
Which parts of the infection model are most significant when looking at travel infections?

Why is travel history so important and what questions should be asked?
- Any unwell travel companions /contacts?
- Pre-travel vaccinations / preventative measures?
- Healthcare exposure?
- Where have they been?
- When did the symptoms begin?
- What are the symptom/signs?
- How did they acquire it?

Identify some common regions which are associated with travel-related infections
- Sub-saharan Africa
- S.E .Asia
- S / C America
- N. Africa
- M. East S / C Asia
Identify and describe the different incubation periods for travel-related infections

What are some typical symptoms of travel-related infections?
- Jaundice
- Eosinophillia

What are some activities that lead people to get travel related infections?

Draw a table of the important features of a travel history.

What are some risk factors whilst travelling that can lead to infections, and what infections do they most commonly cause?

What is malaria?
- Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease, typically transmitted through an animal vector – an infected female Anopheles mosquito
- It is the commonest imported disease in the UK

Which species of the Plasmodium parasite cause malaria in humans?
- Plasmodium falciparum (75% – mainly Africa)
- Plasmodium vivax (~20% – mainly India)
- Plasmodium ovale (~20% – mainly India)
- Plasmodium malariae
- Plasmodium knowlesii

What is the distribution of malaria like across the world?

How does a patient with malaria present when it is only mild?
- History – fever, chills & sweats (cycle every 3rd or 4th day)
- Examination – often few signs except fever (± splenomegaly)

What is the incubation period for malaria?

What are some symptoms of severe falciparum malaria?
- CVS – tachycardia, hypotension, arrhythmias
- Resp – ARDS
- GI – diarrhoea, bilirubin, deranged LFT
- CNS – confusion, fits, cerebral malaria
- Blood – thrombocytopenia, DIC
- Renal - AKI

What is the brief life cycle of the malaria parasite?
- Mosquito gut to salivary gland
- Human liver to erythrocytic to mosquito gut

What are the clinical investigations for malaria?
- CXR

What is the treatment for malaria?

How can you prevent malaria?

What is Enteric fever?
- Mainly in Asia (India) as poor sanitation
- Also S.America and Africa

What are the organisms that cause enteric fever?
- Typhoid fever: Salmonella typhi
- Paratyphoid fever: Salmonella paratyphi A, B or C
Enterobacteriaceae that are aerobic gram-negative bacillus

What is the virulence of salmonella bacteria?
- Low infectious dose
- Survives gastric acid
- Fimbriae adhere to epithelium over ileal lymphoid tissue (Peyer’s patches) → RE system / blood
- Reside within macrophages (liver/ spleen/ bone marrow)

What are the signs and symptoms of enteric fever and what is the incubation period?
- 7-14 days (paratyphoid generally milder symptoms)

- Bacteraemia & sepsis
- Fever
- Headache
- Constipation
- Dry cough
- Relative bradycardia
- Abdominal discomfort
What are the complications of typhoid fever?
- Intestinal haemorrhage
- Intestinal perforation
- 10% mortality (untreated)

What are the investigations for enteric fever?















