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During the last half century there has been an exponential increase in international travel including to more exotic and long-haul destinations. The assessment of febrile returning child travellers presents diagnostic challenges and is often performed poorly. A detailed travel and medical history, clinical examination and appropriate first-line investigations are essential. While the majority of children will have a common self-limiting or easily treatable infection, it is important to consider other causes, including imported infections, which may be life-threatening or highly contagious. In this article, we provide guidance on the initial assessment and management of such children with a focus on some of the more important imported infections, including malaria, dengue, typhoid fever, travellers' diarrhoea, respiratory infections, tuberculosis, schistosomiasis and rickettsial diseases.

(C) 2014 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health