If you cannot meet with the publisher/editor in person....ALWAYS send a query-letter FIRST. You may query several dozen publishers and find that two, three, even a dozen may "bite on the bait"...however, they still have not published until (IF) it is published...and they all might publish withou exclusive rights. It also helps to have a SASE enclosed. You need to present the article outline and more importantly YOUR personal qualifications as an authority rather than an X-SPURT on the subject.

Based on your background and lack of authority on the medical subject I would suggest you change the interest of the article and your intended audience. Perhaps, Backpacker Magazine or Rick Steve's Through the Back Door and title like "avoiding the three major STD's of busking", or "blisters and bliss - life on the road - in 37 countries."

Sincerely,
:::