Travel health update

After a break over recent issues as the coronavirus pandemic took precedence over travel health and other non-urgent services, Jane Chiodini is back to help us catch up with what has been happening

Just back in February this year, I wrote in my update celebrating the fact I’d been writing this column in Practice Nurse for ten years! In that piece I wrote a little about COVID-19, not then declared a pandemic, and the first cases had just been identified in the UK. Well so much has happened since then. I know many of you will be ‘flat out’ working and active travel health has practically stopped as the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office still advises against all but essential travel around the world. In my role as Dean of the Faculty of Travel Medicine, I’ve been blogging about the COVID-19 pandemic and when I reread these blogs, the speed of its development and the impact it’s had, still feels astonishing. https://news.rcpsg.ac.uk/tag/travel-medicine/

So what has happened in travel health since my last update in March? I’ve been trying to post on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TravelHealthTraining/ if I think anything is relevant. Here’s a quick summary:

TYPHOID VACCINE

Back in April, the Green Book chapter 33 on typhoid was updated, mainly to highlight that the oral typhoid vaccine Ty21a is now available from a vaccine company new to the UK, Emergent BioSolutions. The work of vaccine manufacturers is of greater interest in the rush to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, and this US-based company has signed an agreement to be the US Manufacturing Partner for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate. https://www.emergentbiosolutions.com/

YELLOW FEVER

In early June NaTHNaC posted a new video guide to the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP) for yellow fever https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/news/521/updated-guide-on-the-international-certificate-of-vaccination-or-prophylaxis-icvp. It discusses where to get supplies of the certificate, how to complete the certificate correctly and understand where it is appropriate to re-issue a certificate for yellow fever vaccination. It ends with some of the FAQs on ICVPs and signposts the listener to further information.

INTERRUPTED VACCINE COURSES

Later in June, NaTHNaC published guidance on interrupted travel vaccinations courses because the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in international travel plans being put on hold, and because social distancing measures and reprioritisation of clinical activities mean that many travel providers are not offering a service right now. See https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/news/522/interrupted-travel-vaccination-courses-guidance-for-travellers. Although it is always best to complete a course on schedule, if the interval between doses extends that of the license, we have always known to recommence the course where it left off and this does not impair the response to the vaccine. The exception to this rule is the oral typhoid or cholera vaccines or in someone who may have impaired immunity.

Both NaTHNaC and TRAVAX have published numerous resources in relation to COVID-19 in conjunction with travel. The NaTHNaC page can be found at https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/factsheet/92/covid-19-resources. TRAVAX resources are at https://www.travax.nhs.uk/diseases/non-vaccine-preventable/coronavirus/ but a password is required. Both organisations have significantly reduced their phone helplines in line with reduced demand.

EDUCATION FOR TRAVEL HEALTH

In April the Faculty of Travel Medicine made our education hub of travel medicine resources freely accessible. Please take a look when you have time, and share. It includes an interactive travel health update in section 3. See https://rcpsg.ac.uk/college/this-is-what-we-do/emporiatrics-spring-summer-2020-edition

The Faculty is also organising an online travel medicine conference on 6 November 2020 which will consider how travel may look as we move forward while living with COVID-19 and beyond. And then, instead of my usual travel health roadshow, with colleagues I’ll be doing a four-week series of online lunchtime sessions in November/December, an hour each, plus time for questions. I’ll post more details of both these activities on my website at https://www.janechiodini.co.uk/education/ plus I’m developing my introductory course into an online course as well. Never a dull moment!