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STIs prevalent among travelers, immigrants
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The type of travel-associated sexually transmitted infections diagnosed among travelers was varied in different groups of travelers, according to data published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
“Travel is thought to be a risk factor for the acquisition of STIs because it disrupts individuals’ usual sexual practices through physical separation of partners and removal of social taboos that might inhibit sexual freedom,” researchers from the Institute of Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the University of Brescia in Italy wrote. “Published reports about travel-associated STIs focus wholly on risk behavior and small single-clinic analyses, but no multicentre analyses of the clinical range of travel-related STIs have been done.”
The researchers used data from GeoSentinel clinics worldwide from June 1, 1996, to Nov. 30, 2010. Data from 112,180 ill travelers were included in the analysis: 64,335 patients were seen after travel, 38,287 patients were seen during travel and 9,558 were immigrants. Among these patients, 974 had an STI, and 1,001 STIs were diagnosed.
Among patients seen after travel, the STI morbidity was 6.6 per 1,000 travelers. The most common infections where non-gonococcal or other unspecified urethritis, acute HIV infection and syphilis. Males were more likely to have an STI, as were those traveling to see friends and family. Other factors associated with STI diagnosis included not having a pretravel consultation and traveling less than 30 days.
The STI morbidity among travelers who attended clinic while traveling was 10.2 per 1,000 travelers. Among men, the most common diagnoses were non-gonococcal or unspecified urethritis and epididymitis. Among women, the most common diagnosis was cervicitis. Male travelers, younger travelers and business travelers were more likely to have an STI.
Lastly, the STI morbidity among immigrants was 16.8 per 1,000 travelers. The most common diagnosis for both men and women was syphilis. Immigrants seen within 6 months after arrival were more likely to have an STI diagnosis, as were immigrants from North Africa, Eastern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.
“Networks such as GeoSentinel provide an ideal framework for measurement of the effect of pretravel advice and changes in the uptake of clinic visits before travel,” the researchers wrote. “More information is needed about whether travel actually changes sexual behavior and why roughly 50% of travelers engaging in new sexual relationships abroad inconsistently use condoms.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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