Dermatoses associated with travel to tropical countries: a prospective study of the diagnosis and management of 269 patients presenting to a tropical disease unit

Abstract

The full spectrum of skin diseases related to travel in tropical areas is unknown. We prospectively studied 269 consecutive patients with travel-associated dermatosis who presented to our tropical disease unit in Paris during a 2-year period. The median age of these patients was 30 years; 137 patients were male; 76% of the patients were tourists; 38% had visited sub-Saharan Africa; and 85% had been appropriately vaccinated against tetanus. Cutaneous lesions appeared while the patient was still abroad in 61% of cases and after the patient's return to France in 39%. The diagnosis was definite in 260 cases; 137 of these cases (53%) involved an imported tropical disease. The most common diagnoses were cutaneous larva migrans (25%); pyodermas (18%); pruritic arthropod-reactive dermatitis (10%); myiasis (9%); tungiasis (6%); urticaria (5%); fever and rash (4%); and cutaneous leishmaniasis (3%). Hospitalization was necessary in 27 cases (10%), with a median duration of 5 days (range, 2-21 days). Travelers should be advised on how to avoid exposure to the agents and vectors of infectious dermatoses. Travel first-aid kits should include insect repellents and antibiotics effective against bacterial skin infections.