Health Update: Pre-holiday illness

HOLIDAYMAKERS going abroad are more likely to fall ill the week before they go away, research by GPs indicates. In a study of 2,284 subjects, reported in the British Journal of General Practice, the GPs found that those going abroad reported new illnesses twice as often in the week before travel than at any other time. There was no variation in the number of illnesses reported in those taking holidays in the UK. The authors suggest that illness may be associated with anxiety about travel.