title: Trips to the South--a health hazard. Morbidity of Finnish travellers.
abstract: In all, 2665 Finns chosen at random who had made short visits to Spain and her islands, to North Africa or to Thailand, or who had taken an around-the-world tour or a West African cruise were asked to answer a questionnaire concerning the state of their health while abroad. One-third (33%) reported they were ill or had been ill; 48% had had some health complaint during the trip which in 93% lasted for 2 weeks or less. The most common health problems were diarrhoea (18%), sunburn (10%), upper respiratory symptoms with or without headache or fever (10%), insect stings (3%), and problems related to excessive consumption of alcohol (1.5%). 7% deemed it possible that they had contracted a venereal disease. The incidence of the complaints varied with the geographical area visited. It is concluded that mass tourism is accompanied by a morbidity whose dimensions are far from fully recognized.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D013471:Sunburn / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014195:Travel