Stay Awesome
Reference list
Feel free to use this downloadable list to help you organise your important bookmarks. This link is given out on all my courses and I maintain it regularly. It opens as a google document. Work firewalls might not like it.
But you will.
Help yourself. Knowledge is power.
Coffee Break Reading
Here are some hand-picked articles I learned a lot from, reflected on, or simply enjoyed reading. I intend to keep adding to this so do come back and visit!
Artificial intelligence? ChatGPT in travel medicine: A friend or foe?
Single visit rabies pre-exposure prophylaxis: A literature review and Can a single visit rabies pre-exposure prophylaxis eliminate the need for rabies immunoglobulin in last minute travellers?
Qdenga® - A promising dengue fever vaccine; can it be recommended to non-immune travelers?
ANOTHER (3rd) Dengue vaccine in the pipeline
Selfie deaths also see Selfie-related deaths using web epidemiological intelligence tool (2008–2021): a cross-sectional study
JE case in Bangor, North Wales
Cosmetic procedures abroad: what you need to know
INTERESTING PODCAST recommended by a lovely delegate on a travel health course
UK threat of increase in VPD’s spread via mosquitos: climate change is happening...
Surgery abroad - a cautionary tale
Medical tourism- Surgery abroad costs more for the UK to rectify than the surgery itself?
Multi-drug resistant gluteal abscesses due to Mycobacterium abscessus following medical tourism for cosmetic purposes to Mexico
It's not all bad though when it comes to medical tourism. Done properly, it can be a fantastic choice!
The Ready-To-Go Questionnaire predicts health outcomes during travel: a smartphone application-based analysis
Malaria vaccine 2nd one- R21
FGM in Sierra Leone: 3 sad deaths
Wipe out malaria in a decade? Yes please!!
Lassa - new treatments?
Pilgrim deaths at Hajj. Immensely sad.
Sacred journeys and pilgrimages: health risks associated with travels for religious purposes
Animal bites! Test yourself...
A sad reminder why rabies vaccines and seeking treatment is so important.
Tainted Ice cream! Grand Hyatt Hong Kong linked to 15 food poisoning cases involving tainted ice cream
Lethal Spanish hamburgers!!! Suspected salmonella outbreak declared in Madrid: Two people are hospitalised and 15 others affected after eating contaminated truffle sauce at award-winning burger restaurant
A risk assessment for James Bond: No time to die: An in-depth analysis of James Bond's exposure to infectious agents. I love things that are both informative AND hilarious.
This was a revealing observational study published in TMAID in 2024, which really makes one think about the importance of rabies advice. It's a good read: Rabies knowledge gaps and risk behaviour in Dutch travellers: An observational cohort study
Not travel health per se BUT always an interesting read for people who like learning about other cultures. Take a look at Derek Sivers' blogs for an interesting read.
UKHSA blog: How we monitor invasive mosquitoes and stop them spreading in the UK
Waterborne Disease Outbreaks Associated with Splash Pads — United States, 1997–2022
‘It’s a cowboy show out there’: the deadly lottery of the snakebite antivenom industry. A reminder again of the difficulties of finding the right treatments abroad.
Fatal journeys: causes of death in international travellers in South America. A reminder to tailor advice to the demographic characteristics in the traveller.
Travel Medicine in Primary Care: The Pre-Travel Consultation - this is an 8-minute podcast extract (from Nov 24)with two docs discussing what's not to be missed in a Travel health consult (or there's a transcript if you prefer).
Airport Zika reported in June 2025!!! The first possible case of airport Zika virus infection in the EU/EEA
Risk of deaths due to injuries in travellers: a systematic review (it is estimated that injury accounts for close to 25% of deaths in travellers, most of which are theoretically preventable).
Could my job have saved my life? My experience as a post-exposure rabies case.
Weight loss surgery tourism needs urgent regulation, say UK experts
WHO guidelines for clinical management of arboviral diseases: dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever
Implementation of ChatGPT to enhance pre-travel consultation in a specialist tertiary centre in Singapore
Content analysis of malaria-related health information published in online travel blogs: Worth noting!
Useful Starter Tips from Oz!
The Australian Journal of General Practice (RACGP Journal, doi: 10.31128/AJGP-05-25-7685) recently published a special October issue dedicated to Travel Medicine. Although written for GPs in Australia, its insights resonate far beyond borders — offering valuable guidance for all Travel Health professionals committed to supporting safe and informed journeys worldwide. Big thanks to John Byron for sharing these articles via the ISTM TravelMed Forum. This is the kind of interesting stuff you find being a member of ISTM. Consider signing up!
