Four elderly travelers reported side effects, mostly gastrointestinal and mild; two were taking mefloquine and two atovaquone/proguanil. Three young travelers had similar

side effects, all taking mefloquine. Significantly more elderly travelers were fully compliant with their chemoprophylaxis regimen (60.7% vs 33.8%, p < 0.01). Significantly fewer elderly travelers stated that they had “heard of possible side effects” (7.1% vs 29%, p = 0.05) as a reason for not complying with their recommended regimen. Other stated reasons were “nobody takes these drugs anyway” Natural Product Library (19.6% and 25.8% elderly vs young, respectively), “not believing in treatment effectiveness” (6.2% and 1.6%), and “inconvenient regimen” (2.6% and 8%). Significantly fewer elderly travelers used mosquito repellent (Table 2). Significantly more of the elderly travelers reached heights above 1,500 m during their travel (26.1%) compared to their young

counterparts (11.8%, p < 0.01). Significantly more elderly travelers who had Selleck Sotrastaurin reached these heights used acetazoleamide for mountain sickness prevention (58% vs 8.3%, p < 0.01). Illness was reported by 36 (18.8%) elderly travelers compared to 69 (34.0%) young travelers (p = 0.001; Table 3). The most common illness was diarrhea, reported by 19 (9.9%) of the elderly travelers and 50 (24.6%) of the young travelers (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the mean duration of diarrhea was significantly shorter in the elderly travelers' group 2.7 ± 1.8 days, range 1 to 7 days, Meloxicam vs 5.1 ± 3.6 days, range 1 to 30 days in the younger group (p < 0.01). Respiratory tract symptoms were the next most common health problem, reported by about 5% of both groups. Elderly travelers reported significantly fewer febrile episodes, usually in association with a defined illness, such as diarrhea or respiratory tract infection. Skin disorders were reported by 2% of the travelers in both groups. Two elderly travelers and none of the young travelers reported headache and dizziness, unrelated to height. Two elderly travelers and none of the young travelers sustained accidents, both traumas were

secondary to falls. There were no reports of chest pain, animal bites, mountain sickness, or motion sickness in either group. Illness after returning home was reported by about 5% of the travelers in both groups. Data concerning illness after return are presented in Table 3. While most (7) of the young travelers sick on return had diarrheal diseases, only one elderly traveler had diarrhea during the first 30 days after returning home (p = 0.04). One elderly traveler underwent surgery for repair of a fracture sustained during his journey and another was newly diagnosed with diabetes. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups regarding post-travel illnesses. Univariate Analysis. Travelers who reported an illness were younger (p = 0.