The Department of Health Sciences is pleased to announce the next seminar in our 2024-25 Health Sciences Seminar Series, and this event will be held in-person, with a virtual option via Zoom.
Zoom registration - https://carleton-ca.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0ud-ivrz8rGdwtSSwSQNYyVunLSOdrr4BV

Travel-acquired illness and vaccine preventable diseases in Canada

Abstract

International travel has rebounded since the COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to increase, impacting the risk of travel-acquired illness, and spread of diseases. We sought to understand the risks of travel-acquired illnesses across different groups of travellers, informing targeted public health strategies to protect high-risk groups. Data from Statistics Canada’s National Travel Survey (NTS) and GeoSentinel Surveillance Network’s Canadian sites (CanTravNet) were analyzed to assess patterns of travel and travel-acquired diseases. NTS data showed that overall international travel decreased by 48% between 2019 and 2022, particularly in those travelling for tourism, but remained consistent among travellers visiting friends and relatives (21.5% and 23.9%, respectively) whose duration of travel was demonstrated to be longer than others. Identifying sub-populations for enhanced public health strategies can support targeted outreach on travel-related risks, promoting pre-travel consultation and vaccines available to Canadian travellers.

Presenter
Theresa Min-Hyung Lee
Public Health Agency of Canada