Kuna Anna, Gajewski Michał, Stańczak Joanna
Medical University of Gdańsk, Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Chair of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology – National Center for Tropical Medicine, Department of Tropical and Parasitic Diseases, Gdynia,
Medical University of Gdańsk, Department of Infectious Diseases, Gdańsk
Przegl Epidemiol. 2017;71(1):33-44.
Every year, approximately 125 million travelers visit areas where malaria prevails, located in over 100 countries. Over 10,000 of them suffer from malaria annually. Visitors to these areas may protect themselves against infection by using chemoprophylaxis, insect repellents, appropriate clothing, sleeping in airconditioned and well-screened quarters or using mosquito nets impregnated with insecticides.
The aim of this study was to gather and analyze the data about knowledge and usage of pharmacological and non-pharmacological malaria prevention methods among the patients of the University Centre for Maritime and Tropical Medicine (UCMMiT), Gdynia, Poland, in 2012-2013.
A survey was conducted among 245 patients hospitalized in the Department of Tropical and Parasitic Diseases, UCMMiT in Gdynia, Poland in 2012 - 2013. The only criterion for inclusion was a sojourn and consent for participation in the study. The questionnaire included questions concerning mainly the use of chemoprophylaxis, opinion on the medication used for prophylaxis, side effects during its usage, the non-pharmacological prevention methods used against insect bites.
Due to travel destination, malaria chemoprophylaxis should have been recommended for 73 (30%) individuals prior to the travel. It should not have been recommended for the group of 129 patients reporting long-term sojourns (over a year) and for 43 persons (17%) due to their travel to non-endemic countries. In fact, chemoprophylaxis in the “recommended” group was used by 32 persons which constituted 44%, while in the “long sojourn” group prophylaxis was used by 7 persons and in the “not recommended group” by 1 person. The number of people who reported proper use of chemoprophylaxis (an appropriate drug and mode of usage) amounted to 26 (36%) in the “recommended” group. Among bite prevention methods, usage of window mosquito nets was reported by 154 people (63%), bed mosquitonets by 39 (16%), insect repellents by 52 (21%) and insecticides by 52 (21%) patients. Adverse effects associated with chemoprophylaxis were reported by 10 persons (26%) but none of them stopped taking the medication.
In spite of the availability of information on the Internet and the access to pre-travel medical counseling, the knowledge of correct prophylaxis against malaria among the people traveling to tropical countries is still unsatisfactory, leading to increased risk of Plasmodium infections. Better understanding of prophylaxis rules among travelers may increase usage of non-pharmacological methods and highlight the factors affecting usage of prevention methods.
每年，约有1.25亿旅行者前往疟疾流行地区，这些地区分布在100多个国家。其中每年有超过10000人感染疟疾。前往这些地区的游客可通过化学预防、使用驱虫剂、穿着合适衣物、在有空调且纱窗良好的地方睡觉或使用浸有杀虫剂的蚊帐来预防感染。
本研究的目的是收集并分析2012 - 2013年波兰格但斯克大学海洋与热带医学中心（UCMMiT）患者中有关疟疾预防的药理学和非药理学方法的知识及使用情况的数据。
2012 - 2013年对波兰格但斯克大学UCMMiT热带和寄生虫病科住院的245名患者进行了一项调查。纳入的唯一标准是曾旅居且同意参与研究。问卷主要包括有关化学预防的使用、对预防用药的看法、用药期间的副作用以及用于防蚊叮咬的非药理学预防方法等问题。
由于旅行目的地的原因，在旅行前本应建议73名（30%）个体进行疟疾化学预防。对于129名报告长期旅居（超过一年）的患者以及43名（17%）前往非流行国家旅行的人员，本不应建议进行化学预防。实际上，“建议”组中有32人（占44%）使用了化学预防，“长期旅居”组中有7人使用了预防措施，“不建议”组中有1人使用。在“建议”组中，报告正确使用化学预防（合适的药物和使用方式）的人数为26人（占36%）。在防蚊叮咬方法方面，154人（63%）报告使用了窗户蚊帐，39人（16%）使用了床用蚊帐，52人（21%）使用了驱虫剂，52人（21%）使用了杀虫剂。有10人（26%）报告了与化学预防相关的不良反应，但无人停止用药。
尽管互联网上可获取相关信息且能获得旅行前医疗咨询，但前往热带国家的人群中正确预防疟疾的知识仍不令人满意，导致感染疟原虫的风险增加。旅行者对预防规则有更好的了解可能会增加非药理学方法的使用，并突出影响预防方法使用的因素。
