Volume 24, Number 4—April 2018
Dispatch
Region-Specific, Life-Threatening Diseases among International Travelers from Israel, 2004–2015
Table 2
Comparison of characteristics of travelers hospitalized for treatment of acute life-threatening tropical diseases and those with non–life-threatening illnesses, Sheba Medical Center, Israel, 2004–2015*
Patient characteristics | Life-threatening illness,† n = 181 | Non–life-threatening illness, n = 541 | p value |
---|---|---|---|
Male sex | 145 (81) | 385 (71) | 0.02 |
Age, median (IQR) | 33 (25–49) | 33 (25–50) | 0.62 |
Elderly, age ≥60 y |
15 (8) |
68 (13) |
0.12 |
Category of travelers | |||
Tourism | 138 (76) | 448 (83) | 0.05 |
Business travelers | 43 (24) | 73 (13) | <0.01 |
Visiting friends or relatives |
0 (0) |
20 (3) |
<0.01 |
Continent of travel | |||
Africa | 86 (48) | 181 (33) | <0.01 |
Asia | 83 (46) | 247 (46) | 0.98 |
South America | 0 | 43 (8) | <0.01 |
Central America and Caribbean | 8 (4) | 22 (4) | 0.83 |
North America and Europe | 1 (<1) | 25 (5) | <0.01 |
Other‡ | 3 (2) | 23 (4) | 0.11 |
*Values are no. (%) patients except as indicated. IQR, interquartile range.
†Life-threatening diseases (n = 181): P. falciparum (86), S. enterica ser. Paratyphi (36), leptospirosis (29), S. enterica ser. Typhi (23), rickettsial diseases (3), melioidosis (2), hantavirus (1), trypanosomiasis (1).
‡Other comprises Oceania (n = 6) and cases whose exact region of infection was undetermined (n = 26).