05). Frequencies of diagnoses per 100 travelers according to geographical area of travel are shown in Figure 2. Comparing the geographical areas, travelers to sub-Saharan Africa had a greater incidence of malaria, rickettsiosis, filariasis, and schistosomiasis (p < 0.05). Travelers to South America showed a higher frequency of ectoparasitoses, cutaneous larva migrans, and cutaneous/mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (p < 0.05). Travelers

to Southeast Asia–Indian subcontinent suffered from intestinal parasites, enteric fever, and arboviriasis more frequently (p < 0.05). Travelers to other areas had a higher frequency of traveler's GDC-0980 concentration diarrhea (p < 0.005). This retrospective study of nearly 3,000 patients represents the largest series of infectious diseases imported by travelers described in Spain. The study center is located in a tertiary referral hospital where patients from Madrid usually come with more complex pathology, as the diagnosis and treatment of minor illnesses are usually performed in primary care

centers and more acute diseases are seen by emergency services. As the travelers are referred to a specialist center may be do not reflect AZD6738 ic50 conditions in returning travelers per se. Nearly half (46.5%) of the travelers had travelled to sub-Saharan Africa, and 46.5% reported a stay exceeding 1 month (and almost a quarter more than 6 months). The average time from return to presentation was 30 days and these characteristics may be associated with an increased complexity of disease processes. These aspects should be taken into account when considering the results as they may explain the increased proportion of typical tropical diseases (including filariasis) and diseases with longer incubation periods at the expense of other more global infections with shorter incubation periods (such as traveler’s diarrhea). There was a higher rate of vaccination

in this series (69.1%) when compared with the results of another study of Spanish travelers to destinations at risk in the tropics (55.5%),9 and this could be explained by the higher number of travelers to sub-Saharan Africa in the current study (countries Ketotifen which often require yellow fever vaccination). In fact, 79% of the travelers included in the study had been vaccinated against the disease. The high rate of hepatitis B vaccination (40.6%) may also be explained by the large number of travelers who had visited the tropics on repeated occasions (43.1%), and expatriates and aid workers (18.5%) in whom vaccination against hepatitis B is usually indicated. However, less than one third (31.8%) of travelers had been vaccinated against hepatitis A, probably because, until recently, Spain was considered an endemic country and vaccination was not routinely recommended for travelers aged more than 35 years (the average age of travelers in this series was 35 years). The overall percentage of patients who took antimalarial chemoprophylaxis (42.