Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41668155›Full record

ReviewTropical diseases, travel medicine and vaccines2026

Travel microbiota: a novel frontier in travel medicine exploring microbial shifts across transportation modes.

Pooja Tiwary, Krishil Oswal, Nikolay T Tzvetkov, Olena Litvinova, Atanas G Atanasov, Ryan Varghese

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Tropical diseases, travel medicine and vaccines, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Pooja Tiwary *Department of Pharmacy Practice, Poona College of Pharmacy, Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be) University, Pune, 411038, India.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6486-5730
Krishil Oswal *Department of Pharmacy Practice, Poona College of Pharmacy, Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be) University, Pune, 411038, India.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3051-5182
Nikolay T TzvetkovDepartment of Biochemical Pharmacology and Drug Design, Institute of Molecular Biology "Roumen Tsanev" Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8482-0481
Olena LitvinovaDepartment of Management, Marketing and Quality Assurance in Pharmacy, National University of Pharmacy of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Kharkiv, Ukraine. litvinova@nuph.edu.ua.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1578-7398
Atanas G AtanasovLudwig Boltzmann Institute Digital Health and Patient Safety, Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 23, Vienna, 1090, Austria. atanas.atanasov@lbg.ac.at.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2545-0967
Ryan VargheseDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. ryanvarghese14@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6817-2261

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBetween 2010 and 2019, international travel increased by approximately 52.2%, highlighting the world's dependence on transportation for global connectivity. Although travel enhances global interactions, it also poses risks to public health through the potential transmission of diseases. The rapid global transmission of infectious diseases, exemplified by the outbreaks of COVID-19 and Zika virus, underscores the critical need for in-depth research into travel-associated disease dissemination. When individuals travel, they are exposed to a variety of diverse microbial environments, which can affect their healthy microbiome. In this review, we introduce the concept of "travel microbiota" to encapsulate the dynamic shifts in human microbial communities induced by travel across different transportation modes. This disruption can affect metabolic and immune functions and potentially facilitate the spread of diseases. Given these implications, it is crucial to investigate how different modes of transportation affect the human microbiota. Our study reviews the impact of travel on the human microbiota, highlighting differences across transportation modes. The objective is to establish a framework for understanding travel health and the role of microbiota in managing travel-related health risks. A comprehensive understanding of this relationship is essential for developing preventive strategies to safeguard and restore the human microbiota.

methodsTo provide the specific content, relevant publications were identified on Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct using specific keywords such as dysbiosis, gut, health, microbiome, microbiota, pathogens, travel, and transportation. We did not add any limits to the publication date during the inclusion of papers. However, it is noteworthy that the initial reports, including the aforementioned keywords, have been published starting from 2015.

conclusionTravel has a profound impact on the human microbiota, and it is essential to consider the implications associated with various modes of transportation. Traveling through various modes of transportation, such as roadways, airways, and maritime, has significantly influenced human microbiota. Moreover, it acts as a dynamic interface for microbial exchange driving rapid shift in microbial diversity, community convergence, and the diversification of resistant genes. However, the underlying mechanism of these changes remains elusive. By integrating evidence across multiple modes of transportation, this review highlights travel as an underrecognized determinant of microbiome variability and introduces the term "Travel microbiota". Moreover, this review is pivotal for understanding the ways in which travel alters microbial diversity and developing effective interventions. It is imperative to conduct future research that focuses on conducting large-scale longitudinal studies to assess the effects of traveling on microbial composition and to develop potential preventive measures.

Indexed as

DysbiosisGut microbiotaMicrobiomePathogensTransportationTravel microbiota

Identifiers

PMID41668155
PMCPMC12892465

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.