What if it looks like a cold but isn't? "You should always ask the patient about travel they've taken."

Although it may seem like a common cold or temporary indigestion, a fever, cough, or diarrhea may mask a more serious and unknown illness; diagnosing it is important for public health and that of the patient, and the travels the patient has made can give the doctor the definitive clue.

"The trip or the country of origin is never considered, but it should be incorporated as another factor into routine clinical practice," infectious disease specialist María Velasco, who has chaired the AIDS Study Group of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC) since June, told EFE.

Likewise, anyone who has developed symptoms, especially fever, should inform their doctor of the places they have visited in the last 12 months , especially in tropical areas or developing countries, as recommended by the Ministry of Health.

Knowing how to pull the thread

Imported diseases have been emerging due to migration, tourism, and international cooperation. Many are transmitted through mosquito bites, which today celebrate their World Mosquito Day in commemoration of the discovery made on August 20, 1879, by British physician Sir Ronald Ross that female Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans.

This Internal Medicine specialist with specific training in Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine also gives the example of dengue, a disease endemic in the Americas, Asia, the eastern Mediterranean, the western Pacific, and Africa. It is transmitted by mosquitoes of the Aedes genus, such as the tiger mosquito, and of which there is currently a major outbreak in numerous countries.

Most of the time, it is passed asymptomatically, but having it once does not prevent you from passing it more times, with the peculiarity that the more times you pass it, the more serious it can be, to the point of leading to hemorrhagic dengue.

There is no specific treatment for this disease, which has a huge public health impact, although a vaccine is already available that is specifically indicated for people who have had a previous infection.

In general, mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya, West Nile virus, and many others, present similar symptoms that are similar to those of the common cold , but not all are the same.

"If you have fever, a rash, and low white blood cells and platelets, you should include dengue fever in the list of possible illnesses," he exemplifies.

But "there's no magic wand. In medicine, you have to think about many things (...). And that's the doctor's job: to know how to pull the thread to arrive at a diagnosis," he points out.

Place, time and duration of the trip

And to that end, "it's very important to incorporate the question about travel into the usual questions a doctor asks when assessing a person." Knowing the length of stay also provides very useful information.

Mosquito-borne diseases typically have short incubation periods, "showing their face in less than a month," except for malaria, which is usually 7 to 30 days, although it can last for years.

There are others of very variable duration, such as rabies, in this case transmitted by the bite of infected animals: it lasts between three and eight weeks, but can range from two days to more than seven years, depending on the severity of the wound, its location and distance from the brain, the quantity and strain of the virus , the protection provided by clothing and other factors.

Knowing the diagnosis is important for improving patient health and is essential for preventing the reintroduction of previously eradicated diseases. Entomologists are currently closely monitoring the Anopheles mosquito.

The Imported Pathology Study Group (GEPI) of the SEIMC "is making an additional effort " to try to raise awareness among healthcare professionals about these types of diseases, especially those in Primary Care, because that's where patients usually go first.

In this regard, the expert emphasizes the need to recognize the specialty of infectious diseases in order to train professionals and provide adequate care to the ever-increasing number of international travelers and people from other countries.

In any case, anyone planning a trip to exotic destinations or those affected by outbreaks should consult a specialized travel medicine or international vaccination center about eight weeks before departure to learn about the situation and prevent any unpleasant surprises.

Avoiding non-bottled water, including ice, raw foods, fruit that hasn't been peeled and washed yourself, or food that isn't guaranteed to have been kept at a stable temperature, as well as getting the prescribed vaccinations, preparing a first-aid kit, and, for chronically ill people, carrying a backup of their medication are some of the advice every traveler will hear from their doctor.

Also, be careful with the waters you swim in and, of course, avoid mosquito bites by wearing long shirts and pants, especially at dawn and dusk, when they are most active, sleeping under mosquito nets or using air conditioning whenever possible, and using repellent.