Biomedical subjects

Lin H. Chen

Publications and source records attributed to Lin H. Chen.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Yellow Fever Immunizations: Indications and Risks.

The yellow fever vaccine plays an essential role in protecting humans from yellow fever, and millions of doses are administered each year. The attenuated live-virus vaccine has long been considered to be among the safest and most effective vaccines. Newly recognized rare, but sometimes fatal, adverse events associated with the vaccine have prompted scrutiny of the traditional recommendations for use of the vaccine and have raised questions about their pathogenesis. This paper describes the adverse events associated with the vaccine, reviews postulated reasons for the recent recognition of these events, discusses key research questions that need to be addressed in trying to understand their origin and risk factors, and reviews current indications for the use of the vaccine. Knowledge of the epidemiology of yellow fever is necessary to make informed recommendations. Current surveillance is inadequate to provide a precise exposure risk for most travelers.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Dermatologic Infectious Diseases in International Travelers.

Skin lesions provide an important clue to the diagnoses of many infections in returned travelers. New information related to epidemiology, recognition, diagnosis, or management is described for the systemic infections--dengue fever, several of the rickettsial infections, African trypanosomiasis, and coccidioidomycosis. Many pathogens cause focal skin findings. Recent findings are presented for cutaneous leishmaniasis, Buruli ulcer, gnatho-stomiasis, cutaneous larva migrans, myiasis, tungiasis, and scabies. This paper describes the most common skin problems in returning travelers and outlines the types of infections that cause skin lesions, as defined by morphologic characteristics.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Recent Advances and New Challenges in Travel Medicine.

Recent advances in travel medicine include the use of computer resources to obtain information on outbreaks and recommendations to travelers, the introduction of atovaquone/proguanil as chemoprophylaxis and treatment for malaria, the use of azithromycin as an alternative in the self-treatment of traveler's diarrhea, and the combination of hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccines. At the same time, new challenges continue to appear. Shifts in the distribution of infections, such as West Nile virus and dengue fever, underscore the need for up-to-date information. Well-known infectious diseases, such as polio, meningococcal meningitis, and influenza are appearing in unexpected ways and settings. It is increasingly clear that travelers, while at risk for infections, also play a role in the global dispersal of pathogens, such as certain serogroups of Neisseria meningitidis and influenza. Increasing drug resistance affects the choice of drugs for treatment and chemoprophylaxis, and decisions about use of vaccines. Newly identified adverse events associated with yellow fever vaccine have prompted enhanced surveillance after vaccination and careful scrutiny of appropriate indications for the vaccine.

Journal Article↗