title: Health hazards in international tourists visiting Paris in August: a five-year retrospective epidemiologic survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Travel-related illnesses have been studied in visitors to developing countries, but no studies have examined the incidence of health problems in visitors to developed countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  4, 093 foreign tourists visiting Paris in August and attending to emergency medical care for acute health problems were included in an epidemiological survey conducted over 5 consecutive years. The objective was to determine what types of acute health problems occur in a foreign tourist population and to estimate the incidence of the main health hazards.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Gastroenteritis represented the main cause of medical care in that population (from 14.5-21.9%) followed by traumatology, ENT problem, viral syndrome and dermatology which represented altogether 60-64% of all medical problems. Two factors were related to the distribution of diseases observed: age and nationality. The monthly incidence of gastroenteritis was estimated to be between 1.33 to 2.92 per 10,000 visitors, and the overall incidence of health problems between 8 to 10 per 10,000.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Even if the incidence rate of gastroenteritis is low compared with developing countries, further studies are needed to support the hypothesis that gastroenteritis could be attributed to sanitary conditions in some restaurants of the French capital.
authors.affiliation: Institut des Etudes Epidémiologiques et Prophylactiques (IDEEP), Villeneuve St-Georges, France.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Prazuck
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Semaille
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Halioua
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Burcombe
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Papon
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Espinoza
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gallichon
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Juel
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Janniere
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Benoist
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lafaix
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fisch
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019049:Developed Countries; D005260:Female; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010297:Paris / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D014195:Travel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*