Abstract

CHINWA LO, Simone; MASCHERETTI, Melissa; CHAVES, Tânia do Socorro Souza  and  LOPES, Marta Heloisa. Travelers' vaccinations: experience from the Travelers' Clinic of Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo School of Medicine. Rev. Soc. Bras. Med. Trop. [online]. 2008, vol.41, n.5, pp. 474-478. ISSN 0037-8682.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0037-86822008000500008.

TThe profile and vaccination status of travelers seeking pre-travel medical advice at the Travelers' Clinic of Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, and the vaccines recommended for them, were analyzed in the present study. Among the 445 travelers who were studied, 51% were women, the median age was 33.5 years, 51% were traveling on business and 39.5% were traveling for leisure purposes. The destinations most sought were Africa (47%), Asia (31.7%) and South America (21.4%). Vaccination before traveling was recommended for 385 (86.5%) of the travelers. The main vaccines recommended were against typhoid fever (55.7%), diphtheria-tetanus (54.1%), hepatitis A (46.1%), hepatitis B (44.2%) and yellow fever (24.7%). The pre-travel guidance was shown to be important not only for indicating the vaccines recommended for the trip, but also as an opportunity to update routine vaccinations.

Keywords : Vaccines; Immunization; Travel medicine.