Titel Deelnemers "Sexually transmitted diseases and travel" "P. Piot" "Travel behaviour in persons with Multiple Sclerosis using travel diaries and GPS tracking technologies" "An NEVEN, Davy JANSSENS, Geert ALDERS, Geert WETS, Bart VAN WIJMEERSCH, Peter FEYS" "Background: Persons with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) experience several physical and cognitive problems which can influence their travel behaviour. Few data are available about the real participation (restrictions) in daily outdoor activity and travel behaviour. Objective: This pilot study aimed to document, in relation to disease-related disability, which, and how many, activities and trips were daily made by persons with MS, and what transport modes were used. Methods: 36 persons with MS (Expanded Disability Status Scale, EDSS, 1.5-8.0, age 27-63) and 24 healthy controls (age 25-62) were studied, using activity related travel diaries and GPS tracking devices. Information about overall disability characteristics and function was gained by standard clinical tests and questionnaires.MS patients were further divided in subgroups based on EDSS cut-off scores 4.5 and 6.5. Results: Persons with mild ambulatory dysfucntion (EDSS 1.5-4.0, n=17) showed similar travel characteristics as healthy controls (regarding number of trips, travel mode and company) with few restrictions during travelling, although self-limiting modifications in driving behaviour were observed. Statistically significant adaptations in activity and travel behaviour were detected in the moderate (EDSS 4.5-6.5, n=8) and severe MS subgroups (EDSS >6.5-8.0, n=11): driving independently became more difficult, significant more trips were made with company and the duration of performed activities had increased. In the severe MS subgroup, the living environment seemed to have a large influence on the making of (independent) trips. Conclusions: The combination of self-reported travel diaries and objective GPS loggers offered detailed information about the actual outdoor travel behaviour of persons with MS, which was significantly changed in MS patients with EDSS greater than 4. Future studies in larger samples will assess the specific and relative impact of disease-related psychological, visual, cognitive and physical factors on the activity and travel behaviour in patient profiles with various disability severity." "Documenting outdoor activity and travel behaviour in persons with neurological conditions using travel diaries and GPS tracking technology: a pilot study in multiple sclerosis" "An NEVEN, Davy JANSSENS, Geert ALDERS, Geert WETS, Bart VAN WIJMEERSCH, Peter FEYS" "Objective: Persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) experience several physical and cognitive problems which can influence their travel behaviour. This study aimed to document the number of activities, the activity type and the transport mode of the related trips that are daily made by PwMS. Their outdoor activity and travel behaviour was studied in relation to disease-related disability. Methods: Thirty six PwMS (Expanded Disability Status Scale, EDSS, 1.5–8.0, age 27–63) and 24 healthy controls (age 25–62) were studied, using activity-related travel diaries and GPS tracking devices. Information about overall disability characteristics was gained by standard clinical tests and questionnaires. PwMS were further divided in three subgroups based on EDSS cut-off scores 4.5 and 6.5. Results: Persons with mild ambulatory dysfunction (EDSS 1.5–4.0, n = 17) showed similar travel characteristics to healthy controls, with few restrictions during travelling. Statistically significant changes in activity and travel behaviour were detected in the moderate (EDSS 4.5–6.5, n = 8) and severe MS subgroups (EDSS > 6.5–8.0, n = 11) compared with healthy controls: driving independently became less frequent, significant more trips were made with company and the duration of performed activities had increased. Conclusion: The combination of self-reported travel diaries and objective GPS loggers offered detailed information about the actual outdoor travel behaviour of PwMS, which was significantly changed in PwMS with EDSS greater than 4.Implications for Rehabilitation" "Antiretroviral treatment and travel to developing countries" "Robert Colebunders, J Nachega, Alfons Van Gompel" "Pregnancy, nursing, contraception, and travel" "PE Kozarsky, Alfons Van Gompel" "Sinus sigmoideus thrombosis secondary to Graves disease: a case description." "Ellen Hermans, Peter Marien, Peter Paul De Deyn" X "Risk factors and pre-travel healthcare of international travellers attending a Dutch travel clinic" "Maurice van der Schalie, Jelle Visser, Martin P. Grobusch, Michele van Vugt" "Background: The number of international travellers is currently estimated to exceed one billion annually. To address travel related health risks and facilitate risk reduction strategies, detailed knowledge of travellers' characteristics is important.Method: In this cross-sectional study, data of a 20% sample of travellers visiting the Academic Medical Center (AMC) travel clinic Amsterdam from July 2011 to July 2012 was collected. Itineraries and protection versus exposure rates of preventable infectious diseases were mapped and reported according to STROBE guidelines.Results: 1749 travellers were included. South-Eastern Asia, South-America and West-Africa were most frequently visited. 26.2% of the population had pre-existing medical conditions (often cardiovascular). Young and VFR travellers had a longer median travel time (28 and 30 days) compared to the overall population (21 days). Young adult travellers were relatively often vaccinated against hepatitis B (43.9% vs. 20.5%, p < .001) and rabies (16.6% vs. 4.3%, p < .001). VFRs were less often vaccinated against hepatitis B (11.6% vs. 30.6%, p < .001) and rabies (1.3% vs. 9.0%, p .012) compared to non-VFR travellers.Conclusions: Pre-travel guidelines were well adhered to. Young adult travellers had high-risk itineraries but were adequately protected. Improvement of hepatitis B and rabies protection would be desirable, specifically for VFRs. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved." "Japanese encephalitis (JEV) and travel medicine" "Alfons Van Gompel, Erwin Van den Enden" "Malaria rapid diagnostic tests in travel medicine" "Jessica Maltha, Philippe Gillet, Jan Jacobs" "Malaria is a serious condition in the non-immune traveller, and prognosis depends on timely diagnosis. Although microscopy remains the cornerstone of diagnosis, malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are increasingly used in non-endemic settings. They are easy to use, provide results rapidly and require no specific training and equipment. Reported sensitivities vary between different RDT products but are generally good for Plasmodium falciparum, with RDTs detecting the P. falciparum antigen histidine-rich protein-2 (PfHRP2) scoring slightly better than P. falciparum-lactate dehydrogenase (Pf-pLDH)-detecting RDTs. Sensitivity is lower for Plasmodium vivax (66.0 - 88.0%) and poor for Plasmodium ovale (5.5 - 86.7%) and Plasmodium malariae (21.4 - 45.2%). Rapid diagnostic tests have several other limitations, including persistence of the PfHRP2 antigen, cross-reactions of P. falciparum with the non-falciparum test line and vice versa and (rare) false-positive reactions due to other infectious agents or immunological factors. False-negative results occur in the case of low parasite densities, prozone effect or pfhrp2 gene deletions. In addition, errors in interpretation occur, partly due to inadequacies in the instructions for use. Finally, RDTs do not give information about parasite density. In the diagnostic laboratory, RDTs are a valuable adjunct to (but not a replacement for) microscopy for the diagnosis of malaria in the returned traveller.In malaria endemic settings, special groups of travellers (those travelling for long periods, expatriates and short-stay frequent travellers) who are remote from qualified medical services may benefit from self-diagnosis by RDTs, provided they use correctly stored RDT products of proven accuracy, with comprehensive instructions for use and appropriate hands-on training." "Recurring aseptic meningitis after travel to the tropics: a case of Mollaret's meningitis? Case report with review of the literature" "H Wynants, H Taelman, JJ Martin, Jozef Van den Ende"