Infectious Disease Acquisition in Pediatric International Travelers: A 10-Year Review at a Canadian Tertiary Care Hospital

Introduction: children are frequent international travelers and may acquire serious infectious diseases during travel. we undertook a retrospective 10-year review examining children admitted to hospital with infectious diseases associated with international travel at a canadian tertiary care pediatric hospital. methods: retrospective chart review was performed on select travel-related infectious diseases in children ranging in age from birth to <18 years who were admitted at the hospital for sick children in toronto between january 1st, 2009 and december 31st, 2018. cases were identified using icd-10 discharge codes. patient demographics, travel history, epidemiological data, disease, and prophylaxis history were documented. results: a total of 154 children were hospitalized with a travel-related infection over a 10-year period. the most common diagnoses were typhoid or paratyphoid fever (n = 58, 38%), malaria (n = 57, 37%), and hepatitis a (n = 14, 8%). the median age of those infected was 8 years (iqr 3-12). there were 120 (78%) children who were canadian born, 31 (20%) immigrants and 3 (2%) who were visiting canada. of those who lived in canada, 112 (90%) travelled for the purpose of visiting friends and relatives (vfr), 6 (5%) for tourism and 2 (2%) for humanitarian work. india was typically known for the acquisition of infection for typhoid or paratyphoid fever, and nigeria for malaria. hepatitis a was most commonly acquired in pakistan. conclusion: imported infectious diseases continue to be a significant issue in travelers returning from trips suggesting improved preventative pre-travel care. vfr children are a group that should, in particular, be targeted for appropriate pre-travel advice and care.