[Diseases of immigrants].

The spectrum and the importance of imported diseases are different in immigrants than in tourists returning from their vacations in the tropics. Infectious diseases may take another course, specific genetic diseases such as hemoglobin related diseases play an important role. Tuberculosis, intestinal verminosis, schistosomiasis, and malaria are frequently imported infectious diseases. The tuberculosis is of significance because of its frequency, risk of infection, and because of the increasing resistance to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The schistosomiasis may have no symptoms over a long period but may cause dangerous illness later on. One should think of the malaria in any case of unclear fever. On the other hand, immigrants may have a parasitemia with Plasmodium falciparum without having symptoms. This may be of importance in blood transfusions. The experience of physical illness and its description as well as the tolerance to treatment procedures may differ from culture to culture.