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SOME 400 cases of tropical diseases are treated every year at the travellers’ attention unit at Carlos Haya Hospital in Malaga. According to an expert in tropical diseases at the unit, since the year 2000, the number of cases has increased dramatically, mainly due to people travelling to more varied destinations but also due to the higher number of immigrants.
This information came to light at a conference held this week at the Malaga Medical College about diseases which are not usually seen in Spain and which can be suffered after holidays. The most common is malaria, transmitted from the bite of a tropical mosquito which infects the body with a parasite. Other common ailments are diarrhoea, skin problems brought on by insect bites and dengue fever, which is caught from a different type of mosquito.
As well as travellers, immigrants and children adopted from foreign countries also visit the unit. Heart diseases are also frequently detected in adopted children.
Many doctors travel abroad to see the symptoms of the diseases, making it easier for them to diagnose cases which they may find in Spain and which may initially be confused with a more common ailment.
Tropical diseases are not contagious, but carried by mosquitoes which are not present in Spain and Europe; therefore, immigration cannot be blamed for the increasing number of cases.
Two vaccinations are obligatory when travelling to certain countries, one for yellow fever and the other for meningitis. However, it is advisable to consult a doctor and find out which other jabs are recommended.
Anyone going to a tropical destination should visit the unit four weeks before their departure.
The unit is at 43, Paseo Maritimo Pablo Ruiz Picasso in Malaga. The telephone numbers are 952 989 081 and 952 989 082. |
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