Medicine for the colombian air passenger

If Not Now, When?

Abstract

During the last decades air traffic has greatly increased, along with the number of passengers using it; this people travel around the world exposed to a highly hostile and confined environment. Such an environment may exacerbate preexisting diseases or trigger new ones; this includes the possibility of spreading infectious diseases in a very short period of time. The majority of these aerospace-related disorders are preventable at a very low cost, not only for airlines but also for regular health care systems. To date, there is no information in Colombia that could allow creating prevention programs for this growing population, who are continuously exposed to different health risks due to the complete absence of a traveler medicine health prevention program. This could lead to severe problems for local and international public health systems.