Epidemiological and clinical analysis of polish short-term and long-term travelers returning from tropical countries.

Background: There is a lack of information about health problems after returning from tropical countries among travelers from Poland. The aim was to create characteristics of diseases imported to Poland from tropical regions and to determine the changes in the travel trends.

Method: This retrospective study is based on medical records of 2391 Polish patients >18 years old, hospitalized between 2006 and 2016 after returning from tropical areas. The analysis covered purpose, duration and travel destination, and health problems related to the travel. 1098 patients (short travel, <1 month, n = 345 vs long travel, >6 months, n = 753) were selected for further analysis.

Results: The most frequently visited region was Sub-Saharan Africa. Tourists dominated among short-term and missionaries among long-term travelers. The most popular health problems in both groups were digestive system disease and febrile diseases. Diarrhoea of undetermined aetiology, dengue fever, malaria, fever of unknown aetiology and infectious mononucleosis were more likely to occur among short-term travelers whereas blastocystosis, giardiasis, schistosomiasis among long-term travelers. In the group of long-term travelers 363/753 (47,8%) were diagnosed with an infectious or parasitic disease in relation to a trip to a country with a hot climate.

Conclusions: Tropical diseases occur among Polish travelers so they should be taken into account in the context of prophylaxis when preparing for travel and in the diagnosis of diseases that occur after returning from a tropical zone. This first analysis of disease incidence among Polish travelers indicates a strong need for more research in this area.