Title
Differential diagnosis of illness in travelers arriving from sierra Leone, Liberia, or guinea: A cross-sectional study from the Geosentinel surveillance network
Date Issued
02 June 2015
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Boggild A.K.
Esposito D.H.
Kozarsky P.E.
Ansdell V.
Beeching N.J.
Campion D.
Castelli F.
Caumes E.
Chappuis F.
Cramer J.P.
Gkrania-Klotsas E.
Grobusch M.P.
Hagmann S.H.F.
Hynes N.A.
Lian Lim P.
Lopez-Velez R.
Malvy D.J.M.
Mendelson M.
Parola P.
Sotir M.J.
Wu H.M.
Hamer D.H.
Field V.
Libman M.D.
Rothe C.
Barnett E.D.
Schwartz E.
Gautret P.
von Sonnenburg F.
van Genderen P.
Jensenius M.
Stauffer W.M.
Mockenhaupt F.
Kain K.C.
Kanagawa S.
Coyle C.M.
Connor B.A.
Ursing J.
Leder K.
Haulman J.
Schlagenhauf P.
Vincelette J.
McCarthy A.
Pandey P.
Chen L.H.
Cahill J.D.
Rapp C.
Kendall B.
Lalloo D.
Yoshimura Y.
Bottieau E.
Ghesquiere W.
Smith K.
Piyaphanee W.
Licitra C.
Yates J.
Shaw M.
Wang A.
Borwein S.
Publisher(s)
American College of Physicians
Abstract
Background: The largest-ever outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD), ongoing in West Africa since late 2013, has led to export of cases to Europe and North America. Clinicians encountering ill travelers arriving from countries with widespread Ebola virus transmission must be aware of alternate diagnoses associated with fever and other nonspecific symptoms. Objective: To define the spectrum of illness observed in persons returning from areas of West Africa where EVD transmission has been widespread. Design: Descriptive, using GeoSentinel records. Setting: 57 travel or tropical medicine clinics in 25 countries. Patients: 805 ill returned travelers and new immigrants from Sierra Leone, Liberia, or Guinea seen between September 2009 and August 2014. Measurements: Frequencies of demographic and travelrelated characteristics and illnesses reported. Results: The most common specific diagnosis among 770 nonimmigrant travelers was malaria (n = 310 [40.3%]), with Plasmodium falciparum or severe malaria in 267 (86%) and non-P. falciparum malaria in 43 (14%). Acute diarrhea was the second most common diagnosis among nonimmigrant travelers (n= 95 [12.3%]). Such common diagnoses as upper respiratory tract infection, urinary tract infection, and influenza-like illness occurred in only 26, 9, and 7 returning travelers, respectively. Few instances of typhoid fever (n = 8), acute HIV infection (n = 5), and dengue (n = 2) were encountered.
Start page
757
End page
764
Volume
162
Issue
11
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Epidemiología Enfermedades infecciosas
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84932136659
PubMed ID
Source
Annals of Internal Medicine
ISSN of the container
00034819
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus