Background and objective: International travel, particularly to developing countries, is becoming increasingly common among the Israeli population, including an increase in the number of children. Examining post-travel local pediatric morbidity is important for pediatricians in Israel and has not been done yet.
Methods: A retrospective study which examined all children (0-18) who presented to our center after international travel from 2002-2015.
Results: 347 children were seen, with mean age of 10 years (SD±6). Most of the patients (74%) were tourists, 19% were expatriates and 6% were immigrants to Israel.
The main destinations visited were: Asia (43%), Africa (39%), Latin America (7%) and Europe (6%). It was predicted that the number of travelers to Africa who required post-travel care was particularly high in comparison to other locations.
Overall, the most common diagnoses (29%) were gastrointestinal disorders, followed by febrile diseases (27%), among which 20% were diagnosed with malaria and 18% with dengue fever. Dermatologic conditions accounted for 23%. Other conditions included: schistosomiasis (7%), hematologic disorders, mostly eosinophilia (3.5%) and neuropsychiatric symptoms (2%).
Discussion: Gastrointestinal and dermatologic symptoms were more prominent in travelers to Asia, whereas febrile diseases and schistosomiasis were more common in children returning from Africa. Immigrant children had distinct diseases, such as tuberculosis and filariasis.
As travel and immigration worldwide have become more common, children who seek medical care may present with conditions that are extremely rare in Israel. Targeting care to the suspected pathogens based on updated knowledge of epidemiology is essential.
