Viral hemorrhagic fever hazards for travelers in Africa

Clin Infect Dis. 2001 Nov 15;33(10):1707-12. doi: 10.1086/322620. Epub 2001 Oct 10.

Abstract

This short review covers 6 viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) that are known to occur in Africa: yellow fever, Rift Valley fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Lassa fever, Marburg virus disease, and Ebola hemorrhagic fever. All of these have at one time or another affected travelers, often the adventurous kind who are "roughing it" in rural areas, who should therefore be made aware by their physicians or travel health clinics about their potential risk of exposure to any VHF along their travel route and how to minimize the risk. A significant proportion of VHF cases involving travelers have affected expatriate health care workers who were nosocomially exposed in African hospitals or clinics. The VHFs are associated with a high case-fatality rate but are readily prevented by well-known basic precautions.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Africa / epidemiology
  • Animals
  • Hemorrhagic Fevers, Viral* / classification
  • Hemorrhagic Fevers, Viral* / epidemiology
  • Hemorrhagic Fevers, Viral* / prevention & control
  • Humans
  • Travel*