Andrea K Boggild1, Jennifer Geduld1, Michael Libman1, Cedric P Yansouni1, Anne E McCarthy1, Jan Hajek1, Wayne Ghesquiere1, Jean Vincelette1, Susan Kuhn1, David O Freedman1, Kevin C Kain1. 1. Tropical Disease Unit, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine (Boggild, Kain), University Health Network and the University of Toronto; Public Health Ontario Laboratories (Boggild), Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ont.; Office of Border and Travel Health (Geduld), Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ont.; JD MacLean Centre for Tropical Diseases and Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology (Libman, Yansouni), McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, Que.; Tropical Medicine and International Health Clinic, Division of Infectious Diseases (McCarthy), Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ont.; Division of Infectious Diseases (Hajek), Vancouver General Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Infectious Diseases, Vancouver Island Health Authority, Department of Medicine (Ghesquiere), University of British Columbia, Victoria, BC; Hôpital Saint-Luc du CHUM (Vincelette), Université de Montréal, Montréal, Que.; Section of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine (Kuhn), Alberta Children's Hospital and the University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta.; Center for Geographic Medicine, Department of Medicine (Freedman), University of Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, Ala. SAR Laboratories (Kain), Sandra Rotman Centre for Global Health, Toronto, Ont.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Malaria remains the most common specific cause of fever in returned travellers and can be life-threatening. We examined demographic and travel correlates of malaria among Canadian travellers and immigrants to identify groups for targeted pretravel intervention. METHODS: Descriptive data on ill returned Canadian travellers and immigrants presenting to a CanTravNet site between 2004 and 2014 with a diagnosis of malaria were analyzed. Data were collected using the GeoSentinel data platform. This network comprises 63 specialized travel and tropical medicine clinics, including 7 Canadian sites (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Montréal), that contribute anonymous, delinked, clinician- and questionnaire-based travel surveillance data on all ill travellers examined to a centralized Structure Query Language database. RESULTS: During the study period, 20 345 travellers and immigrants were evaluated, and 93% had a travel-related diagnosis. Of these, 437 (2.1%) patients received 456 malaria diagnoses, the most common species being Plasmodium falciparum (n = 282, 61.8%). People travelling to visit friends and relatives were most well-represented (n = 169, 38.7%), followed by business travellers (n = 71, 16.2%). Sub-Saharan Africa was the most common source region, accounting for 341 (74.8%) malaria diagnoses, followed by South Central Asia (n = 55, 12%). Nigeria was the most well-represented source country, accounting for 41 cases (9.0%). India, a high-volume destination for Canadians, accounted for 40 cases (8.8%), 36 of which were caused by Plasmodium vivax. Of 456 malaria diagnoses, 26 (5.7%) were severe. Of 377 nonimmigrant travellers with malaria, 19.9% (n = 75) travelled for less than 2 weeks, and 7.2% (n = 27) travelled for less than 1 week. INTERPRETATION: This analysis provides an epidemiologic framework for Canadian practitioners encountering prospective and returned travellers. It confirms the importance of preventive measures and surveillance associated with travel to sub-Saharan Africa and India, particularly by travellers visiting friends or relatives. Short-duration travel confers important malaria risk.
BACKGROUND:Malaria remains the most common specific cause of fever in returned travellers and can be life-threatening. We examined demographic and travel correlates of malaria among Canadian travellers and immigrants to identify groups for targeted pretravel intervention. METHODS: Descriptive data on ill returned Canadian travellers and immigrants presenting to a CanTravNet site between 2004 and 2014 with a diagnosis of malaria were analyzed. Data were collected using the GeoSentinel data platform. This network comprises 63 specialized travel and tropical medicine clinics, including 7 Canadian sites (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Montréal), that contribute anonymous, delinked, clinician- and questionnaire-based travel surveillance data on all ill travellers examined to a centralized Structure Query Language database. RESULTS: During the study period, 20 345 travellers and immigrants were evaluated, and 93% had a travel-related diagnosis. Of these, 437 (2.1%) patients received 456 malaria diagnoses, the most common species being Plasmodium falciparum (n = 282, 61.8%). People travelling to visit friends and relatives were most well-represented (n = 169, 38.7%), followed by business travellers (n = 71, 16.2%). Sub-Saharan Africa was the most common source region, accounting for 341 (74.8%) malaria diagnoses, followed by South Central Asia (n = 55, 12%). Nigeria was the most well-represented source country, accounting for 41 cases (9.0%). India, a high-volume destination for Canadians, accounted for 40 cases (8.8%), 36 of which were caused by Plasmodium vivax. Of 456 malaria diagnoses, 26 (5.7%) were severe. Of 377 nonimmigrant travellers with malaria, 19.9% (n = 75) travelled for less than 2 weeks, and 7.2% (n = 27) travelled for less than 1 week. INTERPRETATION: This analysis provides an epidemiologic framework for Canadian practitioners encountering prospective and returned travellers. It confirms the importance of preventive measures and surveillance associated with travel to sub-Saharan Africa and India, particularly by travellers visiting friends or relatives. Short-duration travel confers important malaria risk.
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