The interaction of pathogen, host, and their environment is one of the hallmarks of infectious disease. Unlike chronic diseases, where we deal in risk factors and probabilities, there is at least one certainty for infectious diseases: if a susceptible person (or other host) must come into contact with the agent for infection to occur. Although this process is an age-old process, with our ever increasing zeal for travel, adventure travel, and even eco-tourism, we are placing ourselves as susceptible hosts into an ever increasing array of epidemiologic triangles.
For instance, see this Canadian news article pointing out risks to travelers going to see the World Cup in South Africa. There’s also a free article in this month’s journal Pediatrics about the occurrence of disease among returning travelers, particularly children (using a pretty fun surveillance network called the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network).
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