In a study of 1,107 consecutive cases of schistosomiasis in returning travelers and immigrants presenting to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, 50% of cases were asymptomatic.9 In a study of returning Israeli travelers, 26% of those initially asymptomatic progressed to develop

chronic schistosomiasis, supporting the rationale for screening returning travelers with endemic area exposure.10 Although ectopic migration of schistosomiasis is rare in returning travelers, cases like ours illustrate the potential for the consequences to be catastrophic. The authors would like to thank Miss Julia Montgomery http://www.selleckchem.com/products/ABT-263.html for her helpful comments on this clinical report. The authors state they have no conflicts of interest to declare. “
“College freshmen living in dormitories are at increased risk for meningococcal disease. Many students become a high-risk population when they

travel to the United States. This study surveyed the knowledge, attitudes toward, and behavior surrounding the disease among Taiwanese college students planning to study in the United States, and to identify factors that may affect willingness to accept meningococcal vaccination. A cross-sectional Selleck CH5424802 survey of college students going to study in the United States was conducted in a medical center-based travel medicine clinic. Background information, attitudes, general knowledge, preventive or postexposure management, and individual preventive practices were collected through a structured questionnaire. A total of 358 students were included in the final analysis. More than 90% of participants believed that preventing meningococcal disease was important. However, fewer than 50% of students accurately

answered six of nine questions exploring knowledge of the disease, and only 17.3% of students knew the correct management strategy after close contact with patients. Logistic regression analysis showed that students who understood the mode of transmission (odds ratio: 3.21, 95% CI = 1.117–9.229), medication management (1.88, 1.045–3.38), and epidemiology (2.735, 1.478–5.061) tended to be vaccinated. Despite CHIR-99021 price an overall positive attitude toward meningococcal vaccination, there was poor knowledge about meningococcal disease. Promoting education on the mode of transmission, epidemiology, and pharmacological management of the disease could increase vaccination rates. Both the governments and travel medicine specialists should work together on developing an education program for this high-risk group other than just requiring vaccination. Despite advances in global efforts to develop new vaccines, invasive meningococcal disease remains a devastating disease with a fulminant course.[1-8] The annual incidence was 0.33 cases per 100,000 population in 2007 and an estimated 1,525 cases of meningococcal disease occur annually in the United States.