COMMON INFECTIOUS AND PARASITIC DISEASES IMPORTED FROM THAILAND: CLINICAL PICTURE, TREATMENT AND PRE-TRAVEL PROPHYLAXIS-A REVIEW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31435/ijitss.2(50).2026.5489Keywords:
Dengue, Zika, Chikungunya, Malaria, Travel Medicine, ThailandAbstract
Background: Thailand, being one of the most popular tourist destinations in Southeast Asia, simultaneously represents an area with a high risk of tropical disease infections. Increased tourist traffic, urbanization, and climate change contribute to the growing number of imported infections to non-endemic countries.
Aim of the study: The aim of this review paper is to summarize current knowledge (based on literature from 2016–2026) regarding the most common infectious and parasitic diseases imported from Thailand—dengue, malaria, Zika virus infections, and chikungunya—with particular emphasis on clinical presentation, available therapeutic options, and modern pre-travel prophylaxis.
Methods: A review of current medical literature from the PubMed and Google Scholar databases was conducted, incorporating WHO and CDC guidelines as well as the latest clinical trials.
Results: Arboviral infections (dengue, Zika, chikungunya) present significant difficulties in differential diagnosis due to overlapping early clinical symptoms, which requires great caution in the selection of symptomatic treatment (avoidance of NSAIDs). The epidemiological profile of malaria in Thailand is shifting toward the dominance of Plasmodium vivax and a growing proportion of zoonotic Plasmodium knowlesi.
Conclusions: Although the treatment of most of the discussed viral infections remains exclusively symptomatic, the last decade has brought a breakthrough in pre-travel prophylaxis thanks to the introduction of new vaccines (TAK-003 against dengue, VLA1553 against chikungunya). Despite these achievements, rigorous vector protection and appropriately selected antimalarial chemoprophylaxis remain the foundation of travel medicine.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Gabriela Zimka, Weronika Smutkiewicz, Sylwia Hejna, Patrycja Szczygielska, Michał Niespodziewański, Martyna Lipiarz, Magdalena Roman, Lilianna Jasińska, Krystian Bjorgen, Weronika Teterycz
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