Health Tourism and Infectious Diseases

Health tourism is an old concept, but in recent years it has gained enormously in popularity. Health tourists are individuals who leave their local communities and travel to another country for non-emergency medical care. Common procedures performed abroad include dental work, arthroplasty, bariatric, cosmetic and cardiac surgery, reproductive care and organ transplant. At present, complete and accurate data on the volume of health tourism, destination, services, and procedures are unavailable. Similarly, little information is available regarding the risks facing health tourists, such as the infectious diseases associated with surgery or the problems inherent in travelling to other regions. Most reports suggest that procedures carried out abroad are associated with higher rates of infections, but there is no system-wide database currently tracking procedures and outcomes. Transplant tourists are more likely to develop cytomegalovirus, hepatitis B virus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and wound infections, and cosmetic tourists more frequently have wound infections caused by Mycobacterium abscessus. Nosocomial infections caused by resistant pathogens have also been reported in health tourism patients. Importantly, the delay in the identification of patients with resistant pathogens may potentially result in an outbreak of disease. More research into the health and safety risks in health tourism is urgently needed, and all medical centres should have a predefined approach to the management of patients who have seek medical care abroad.