LAUSR

BACKGROUND Rabies causes thousands of deaths worldwide and trips to rabies endemic countries are popular. Travellers are often uncertain whether pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is advisable since they find it difficult to estimate the exposure risk during travel and the availability of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in endemic regions. The aim of this study was to determine the potential rabies-exposures in travellers and to assess their knowledge on rabies. Secondly, we explored the access to appropriate post-exposure medical care in respective countries. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study at Frankfurt Airport. Returning adult travellers arriving from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, South and Central America were invited to participate in this questionnaire-based study while waiting in the baggage claim area. RESULTS Over a one-month recruitment phase in March 2019, we enrolled 3066 travellers; 2929 were included in the analysis. The gender ratio was balanced; the median age was 42y (range 18-83y). Participants arrived from Asia (46%), Africa (29%), Central/South America (13%), the Middle East (8%), and the Caribbean (8%). 45% sought pre-travel advice and 22% received ≥two injections of rabies PrEP. Travellers with pre-travel advice from tropical medicine specialists reached significantly higher knowledge scores than others. We found that potential rabies exposure occurred in 2.0% (57/2915) of travellers with 31% (13/42) of the contacts being unprovoked; 19% (8/42) of the exposed sought medical care and 3/8 were adequately treated before returning to Germany. Risk factors for animal exposure were: male sex, young age, trips to Asia and a long stay abroad (>4 weeks). CONCLUSIONS 2% of returning travellers (n = 2915) experienced a potential rabies exposure during their journey. A majority of the exposed individuals did not seek medical care; those seeking medical care were often treated inadequately. Rabies information must be emphasised during pre-travel counselling and PrEP should be offered generously, especially to travellers with high exposure risks.