Report: Getting Ahead of the Curve
January 10th 2002 saw the publication of a new report
entitled ‘Getting Ahead of the Curve’ from the Chief Medical
Officer in England. The report highlights the need to recognise
the threat of infectious disease, and outlines a potential strategy
for combating the problem.
Risks of Travel
The report is particularly significant in the area
of TravelHealth as each year millions of people leave the UK for
holiday destinations around the globe. In the last twenty years
international travel has increased by over 400%. UK residents made
55,969,552 journeys overseas in the year 2000. Travel to countries
in Africa, Asia and South America represent a real threat of imported
infectious diseases, which not only affect the health of the individual
but also of the economy as a whole.
In a survey conducted by Aventis Pasteur MSD last
year, one fifth of all travellers to destinations with health risks
travelled without vaccinations, and nearly 50% did not take any
basic health precautions. It is the combined factors of increased
global travel and human behaviour that pose the greatest threat.
The report highlights that the very nature of travel
poses a problem. The increase of travel to tropical regions is reflected
in the rise of malaria cases in the UK over the last few years.
The speed of travel means that a person can be sitting in their
doctor's surgery days after returning from a tropical holiday, with
an infectious disease.
The Public Needs Information
The report calls for the further development of
public information regarding infectious
diseases.
- Travellers to high risk destinations need to
be aware of the disease risks associated with contaminated food
and water, disease spread by animals and insects, and infectious
disease transmitted by close personal contact.
- Travellers need to be aware of the increased
risk of HIV from unprotected sex both in the UK and abroad.
- And with more than 1400 imported cases of malaria
in the UK during 1999, more education is needed regarding malaria
tablets and bite prevention for those travelling to areas of the
world where malaria is a problem.
