Global travel medicine role

Global travel medicine role

James Cook University’s Professor Peter Leggat has been appointed as the Secretary-Treasurer of the International Society of Travel Medicine.

The appointment of Professor Leggat, who is Head of the School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation Sciences, was announced recently during the Society’s 13th Conference held in Maastricht, the Netherlands.

The Society, established in 1991, has more than 3000 members in more than 90 countries and is the peak professional organisation for travel and migrant medicine globally. It includes doctors, nurses and pharmacists from around the world, with Australia having the third largest member group.

“Travel medicine seeks to prevent illnesses and injuries occurring to travellers going abroad, and manages problems arising in travellers coming back or coming from abroad,” Professor Leggat said.

“It is also concerned about the wellbeing of travellers while they are away and the impact of tourism on the health of host nations.”

Professor Leggat said the role of Secretary-Treasurer of a relatively large international organization would be a challenging one.

“It will be challenging in terms of working with a Secretariat based in Atlanta, Georgia, in the USA and overseeing its various major projects, including the GeoSentinel disease monitoring program in collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

Professor Leggat is a highly respected medical educator, who has been teaching medical and other health science students for nearly 30 years.

He helped to found the popular Australian Postgraduate Travel Medicine course, which has been conducted at JCU for more than 20 years, and more recently started JCU’s inaugural expedition and wilderness medicine course.

In 2000 he was elected as a Foundation Fellow of the Faculty of Travel Medicine of The Australasian College of Tropical Medicine and, in 2006, was elected as a Foundation Fellow of the Faculty of Travel Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.

In 2012 he received the J Peter Cunliffe Transportation Award from the World Safety Organization in recognition of his contributions to travel medicine and safety.

Issued: May 30, 2013

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