Surveillance of Gastrointestinal Upset in Package Holiday Tourists

All travel has associated health risks that need to be recognized not only by travellers, but also by tour operators and governments. In this context, the author considers some of the infections that have been contracted by package holiday tourists from the UK. With 15 million package holidays sold in the UK each year and increasing consumer concern about health risks, health is now a major factor in customer satisfaction. Media exposure and possible legal action when expectations are not met mean that the need to reduce the health risks associated with travel is crucial for the tourism industry as well as for travellers themselves. This paper sets out the main hazards and risks and examines what actions can and should be taken by tour operators, destination countries, and tourists. The author stresses the importance of ensuring a proper health infrastructure in the development of tourist areas; the need for operators to stipulate minimum hotel standards, backed up by regular auditing; the responsibility of tourists to ensure that they do not expose themselves to unnecessary risks; and the significance of surveillance systems in the control of travel-related diseases.

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Quantifying the “Slosh Stomach”: A Novel Tool for Assessment of Exercise-Associated Gastroparesis Symptoms in Endurance Athletes

Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1155/2016/1276369 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Amy Sue Biondich ◽

Jeremy D. Joslin

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Medical Literature ◽

Endurance Athlete ◽

Endurance Athletes ◽

Survey Tool ◽

Remote Location ◽

Severity Scores ◽

Race Performance ◽

Gastrointestinal Upset

Introduction. We describe a novel scale and its field use for evaluation of exercise-associated gastroparesis in the endurance athlete.Methods. A scale was created based on gastroparesis tools previously described in the medical literature. Surveys of the tool were administered to runners participating in a 210 km multiday foot race in Sri Lanka.Results. Use of this novel scale was demonstrated to be useful in assessing gastroparesis severity scores of athletes and how these symptoms affected their race performance. Of the 27 race participants who completed the survey, 27 felt that the tool adequately captured their symptoms.Conclusions. This novel survey tool was able to assess the presence and severity of exercise-associated gastroparesis symptoms in endurance racers in a remote location. This tool may be helpful with further research of the identification and management of gastroparesis and other gastrointestinal upset in the endurance race environment.

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Sarcocystosis (sarcosporidiosis)

Oxford Textbook of Medicine ◽

10.1093/med/9780199204854.003.070807_update_001 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 1109-1111

Author(s):

John E. Cooper

Keyword(s):

Intermediate Host ◽

Muscle Biopsy ◽

Clinical Examination ◽

Specific Treatment ◽

Final Host ◽

Domestic Pig ◽

Gastrointestinal Upset

Sarcocystosis is characterized by the invasion of muscles and sometimes other tissues by protozoa of the genus Sarcocystis, of which S. hominis (intermediate host domestic cattle) and S. suihominis (domestic pig) are the most significant to humans, to whom they are transmitted by ingestion of uncooked beef or pork. Humans serve as either intermediate or final host: (1) intermediate host—presence of cysts in muscle is usually asymptomatic, but may cause myositis or myopathy; detected on clinical examination or muscle biopsy; (2) final host—may be asymptomatic or cause fever and gastrointestinal upset; oocysts or sporocysts can be detected in faeces. There is no specific treatment. Prevention is by not eating uncooked meat from any animal....

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Assessment of the returning traveller

InnovAiT Education and inspiration for general practice ◽

10.1177/1755738017736077 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 148-154

Author(s):

Ewan Clark ◽

Michael Diamond ◽

William Donovan

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Full Spectrum ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Potential Exposure ◽

Clinical Presentations ◽

Returning Travellers ◽

The Uk ◽

Global Travel ◽

Gastrointestinal Upset

The extent of global travel is ever increasing, and this is reflected in the number of travellers attending GP surgeries on their return to the UK. Presenting issues more commonly dealt with by GPs, particularly among returning travellers who have visited developing countries and tropical regions, include gastrointestinal upset, feverish illnesses, potential exposure to schistosomiasis and the finding of eosinophilia. The full spectrum of travel-related illness is too extensive to be covered in detail, but an overview of the assessment and management of these clinical presentations is given.

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