Travel health update

Travel alerts from NaTHNac and TRAVAX; New edition of Travellers' health - how to stay health abroad; World Health Organization factsheets

TRAVEL ALERTS

It would possibly be unwise for me to write here about current vaccine shortages as the news changes from one week to the next, but one thing for certain is that you have probably had your daily practice affected by it in one way or another! It is important to keep up to date with travel health news and one way you can easily do this is to subscribe to the alerts available to you from NaTHNaC and TRAVAX. If using TRAVAX you can activate daily or weekly 'News' and/or 'Outbreaks' by going to 'My Account' on the top menu and selecting your preferred option to the 'Alert Subscription'. If using NaTHNaC, the home page for Professionals has 'Recent Clinical Updates' clearly posted at the top and towards the bottom of this section is a line 'Be notified when a clinical update is posted'. Click on this which leads you to a page where you click on a 'green spot,' which creates an e mail for you to send requesting you are added to the Clinical Update distribution list. NaTHNaC news can also be followed on Twitter. In addition, news is regularly posted on the public sites of these national databases http://www.nathnac.org/travel/index.htm and http://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/home.aspx which provide very easy access for your travellers to also keep up to date thus increasing their self awareness and knowledge of travel related health risks.

TRAVELLERS' HEALTH - HOW TO STAY HEALTHY ABROAD, 5th edition

When I began studying travel medicine there were very few books on the subject and the one I enjoyed and used the most was 'Travellers' Health - how to stay healthy abroad'. Devised and edited by Dr Richard Dawood, a specialist in travel medicine for the past 30 years, this is now available in a fifth edition. Although written with travellers in mind, the book is extremely interesting, well written and with 72 contributors, all experts in their field of practice, it is very relevant and useful for travel health practitioners as well. Details of the book can be found at http://www.travellershealth.com/ If ordering through the Oxford University Press link a 20% discount will be applied by entering the code AMPROMO6 at the checkout. How things have moved on, I not only devour my paper copy but have just bought the Kindle version as well!

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION FACTSHEETS

I'm a great fan of the WHO factsheets that provide succinct and easy to read leaflets on so many different topics - they can often be very useful to inform your travellers. My favourites from the A-Z list would include: injection safety (no. 231); counterfeit medicines (no.275); blood safety and availability (no. 279); malaria (no. 94); hepatitis B (no. 204) and rabies (no. 99), the latter five all updated this year.

PRACTICE NURSE ONLINE

I was delighted to see Practice Nurse journal has now gone online - not least to check on back issues of this update to check that I'm not repeating myself with any news items! Past articles can be accessed and a bonus to using the electronic version is that if you click on any resource online link, it takes you there directly rather than having to type in the address!

EMPORIATRICS AUTUMN/WINTER 2012

The latest edition of this magazine from the Faculty of Travel Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow is now published. If you would like a copy in PDF please e mail me at jane@janechiodini.co.uk