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Animal bites and rabies exposure in Australian travellers.
Med J Aust. 2011 Dec 19; 195(11-12):673-5.MJ

Abstract

OBJECTIVES

To examine the circumstances of animal exposure in a case series of Australian travellers who required rabies postexposure prophylaxis, and to assess the appropriateness of current guidelines for rabies pre-exposure vaccination.

DESIGN, PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Prospective case series of 65 returned travellers who presented to four Australian travel medicine clinics between 1 April 2009 and 31 July 2010 for rabies post-exposure prophylaxis.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Demographic characteristics associated with risk of injury; countries where injuries occurred; circumstances of the injuries; and travellers' experiences of obtaining postexposure prophylaxis overseas.

RESULTS

Animal bites and scratches occurred most commonly among travellers aged 20-29 years. Most injuries occurred in Bali, Indonesia (30 [46%]) and Thailand (21 [32%]), and the most common animals responsible for the injuries to the 65 travellers were monkeys (29 travellers [45%]) and dogs (27 [42%]). Thirty-nine of the travellers (60%) initiated contact with the animal. Forty travellers (62%) were able to commence rabies vaccination overseas, but only nine (14%) were able to obtain rabies immunoglobulin overseas.

CONCLUSIONS

Most travellers had difficulty obtaining rabies postexposure prophylaxis overseas, resulting in significant delays in appropriate treatment. We recommend that current National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines for at-risk persons be broadened, and that the risk of rabies and the option of pre-exposure vaccination be discussed with all travellers to rabies-endemic areas.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Mills DJ
Dr Deb-The Travel Doctor, Brisbane, QLD.
Lau CL
No affiliation info available
Weinstein P
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AdolescentAdultAnimalsAustraliaBites and StingsChildFemaleHealth Services AccessibilityHumansMaleMiddle AgedPractice Guidelines as TopicProspective StudiesRabiesRabies VaccinesSurveys and QuestionnairesTravelVaccinationYoung Adult

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22171863

Citation

Mills, Deborah J., et al. "Animal Bites and Rabies Exposure in Australian Travellers." The Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 195, no. 11-12, 2011, pp. 673-5.
Mills DJ, Lau CL, Weinstein P. Animal bites and rabies exposure in Australian travellers. Med J Aust. 2011;195(11-12):673-5.
Mills, D. J., Lau, C. L., & Weinstein, P. (2011). Animal bites and rabies exposure in Australian travellers. The Medical Journal of Australia, 195(11-12), 673-5.
Mills DJ, Lau CL, Weinstein P. Animal Bites and Rabies Exposure in Australian Travellers. Med J Aust. 2011 Dec 19;195(11-12):673-5. PubMed PMID: 22171863.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Animal bites and rabies exposure in Australian travellers. AU - Mills,Deborah J, AU - Lau,Colleen L, AU - Weinstein,Philip, PY - 2011/12/17/entrez PY - 2011/12/17/pubmed PY - 2012/2/10/medline SP - 673 EP - 5 JF - The Medical journal of Australia JO - Med J Aust VL - 195 IS - 11-12 N2 - OBJECTIVES: To examine the circumstances of animal exposure in a case series of Australian travellers who required rabies postexposure prophylaxis, and to assess the appropriateness of current guidelines for rabies pre-exposure vaccination. DESIGN, PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Prospective case series of 65 returned travellers who presented to four Australian travel medicine clinics between 1 April 2009 and 31 July 2010 for rabies post-exposure prophylaxis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Demographic characteristics associated with risk of injury; countries where injuries occurred; circumstances of the injuries; and travellers' experiences of obtaining postexposure prophylaxis overseas. RESULTS: Animal bites and scratches occurred most commonly among travellers aged 20-29 years. Most injuries occurred in Bali, Indonesia (30 [46%]) and Thailand (21 [32%]), and the most common animals responsible for the injuries to the 65 travellers were monkeys (29 travellers [45%]) and dogs (27 [42%]). Thirty-nine of the travellers (60%) initiated contact with the animal. Forty travellers (62%) were able to commence rabies vaccination overseas, but only nine (14%) were able to obtain rabies immunoglobulin overseas. CONCLUSIONS: Most travellers had difficulty obtaining rabies postexposure prophylaxis overseas, resulting in significant delays in appropriate treatment. We recommend that current National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines for at-risk persons be broadened, and that the risk of rabies and the option of pre-exposure vaccination be discussed with all travellers to rabies-endemic areas. SN - 1326-5377 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/22171863/full_citation L2 - https://doi.org/10.5694/mja10.11413 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -