Lloveras Susana Cristina
Centro Municipal de Patologías Regionales Argentinas y Medicina Tropical, Hospital F. J. Muñiz, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Rev Chilena Infectol. 2011 Dec;28(6):520-8. Epub 2012 Jan 5.
The geography, tourist attractions and the multiple sites of historical and cultural interest make South America as an important destination chosen by travelers. The continent has a wide climatic variation from north to south, making exposure to risk different between the tropics and the temperate or cold regions. In the countries of tropical South America, the greatest risk is associated with the possibility of acquiring vector-borne diseases, like yellow fever, dengue, malaria and leishmaniasis. The risk of acquiring traveler's diarrhea and food-borne illness is similar across the continent, with some variations according to country and to visit urban or rural areas. Rabies, pertussis and diphtheria have appeared as epidemics in several countries and other diseases such as rickettsiosis, hantavirosis and viral encephalitis have expanded their distribution. The geographic and epidemiological diversity of South America, promotes a challenge for travel medicine specialists because during the pre-travel advice they have to take in account the kind of trip, traveller's medical history, exposure to risk and the dynamics of endemic emerging and reemerging diseases in the region.
南美洲的地理位置、旅游景点以及众多历史文化名胜，使其成为旅行者选择的重要目的地。该大陆南北气候差异很大，这使得热带地区与温带或寒冷地区面临的风险有所不同。在南美洲的热带国家，最大的风险与感染媒介传播疾病的可能性有关，如黄热病、登革热、疟疾和利什曼病。在整个大陆，感染旅行者腹泻和食源性疾病的风险相似，但因国家以及前往城市或农村地区的不同而有所差异。狂犬病、百日咳和白喉在一些国家已爆发流行，其他疾病如立克次体病、汉坦病毒病和病毒性脑炎的分布范围也有所扩大。南美洲的地理和流行病学多样性，给旅行医学专家带来了挑战，因为在旅行前提供建议时，他们必须考虑旅行类型、旅行者的病史、面临的风险以及该地区地方性新发和再发疾病的动态情况。
