Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- Part I Clinical syndromes: general
- Part II Clinical syndromes: head and neck
- Part III Clinical syndromes: eye
- Part IV Clinical syndromes: skin and lymph nodes
- Part V Clinical syndromes: respiratory tract
- Part VI Clinical syndromes: heart and blood vessels
- Part VII Clinical syndromes: gastrointestinal tract, liver, and abdomen
- Part VIII Clinical syndromes: genitourinary tract
- Part IX Clinical syndromes: musculoskeletal system
- Part X Clinical syndromes: neurologic system
- Part XI The susceptible host
- Part XII HIV
- Part XIII Nosocomial infection
- Part XIV Infections related to surgery and trauma
- Part XV Prevention of infection
- Part XVI Travel and recreation
- 116 Advice for travelers
- 117 Fever in the returning traveler
- 118 Systemic infection from animals
- 119 Tick-borne disease
- 120 Recreational water exposure
- 121 Travelers’ diarrhea
- Part XVII Bioterrorism
- Part XVIII Specific organisms: bacteria
- Part XIX Specific organisms: spirochetes
- Part XX Specific organisms: Mycoplasma and Chlamydia
- Part XXI Specific organisms: Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma
- Part XXII Specific organisms: fungi
- Part XXIII Specific organisms: viruses
- Part XXIV Specific organisms: parasites
- Part XXV Antimicrobial therapy: general considerations
- Index
- References
121 - Travelers’ diarrhea
from Part XVI - Travel and recreation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 April 2015
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- Part I Clinical syndromes: general
- Part II Clinical syndromes: head and neck
- Part III Clinical syndromes: eye
- Part IV Clinical syndromes: skin and lymph nodes
- Part V Clinical syndromes: respiratory tract
- Part VI Clinical syndromes: heart and blood vessels
- Part VII Clinical syndromes: gastrointestinal tract, liver, and abdomen
- Part VIII Clinical syndromes: genitourinary tract
- Part IX Clinical syndromes: musculoskeletal system
- Part X Clinical syndromes: neurologic system
- Part XI The susceptible host
- Part XII HIV
- Part XIII Nosocomial infection
- Part XIV Infections related to surgery and trauma
- Part XV Prevention of infection
- Part XVI Travel and recreation
- 116 Advice for travelers
- 117 Fever in the returning traveler
- 118 Systemic infection from animals
- 119 Tick-borne disease
- 120 Recreational water exposure
- 121 Travelers’ diarrhea
- Part XVII Bioterrorism
- Part XVIII Specific organisms: bacteria
- Part XIX Specific organisms: spirochetes
- Part XX Specific organisms: Mycoplasma and Chlamydia
- Part XXI Specific organisms: Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma
- Part XXII Specific organisms: fungi
- Part XXIII Specific organisms: viruses
- Part XXIV Specific organisms: parasites
- Part XXV Antimicrobial therapy: general considerations
- Index
- References
Summary
Diarrhea is the most frequent health problem encountered by persons going from industrialized to developing countries. Of the 100 million people traveling annually from industrialized to developing countries, approximately 40% will suffer from so-called travelers' diarrhea (TD), many more than once.
Classically, TD is defined as the passage of three or more unformed stools within 24 hours in association with at least one of the following symptoms of enteric infection: nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or cramps, fever, fecal urgency, tenesmus, or the passage of bloody/mucoid (dysenteric) stools. This definition includes illness occurring up to 10 days after travelers return to their home countries.
Cases of TD can be categorized by severity as being mild (no disturbance in normal activities), moderate (modified travel activities required), or severe (illness requires confinement to bed). Fewer than 1% of patients are admitted to a hospital, but almost 40% are required to change their travel schedule.
Acute TD lasts for less than 2 weeks. Illness lasting more than 2 weeks is considered “persistent” and is seen in 2% to 10% of travelers. Possible etiologies of persistent diarrhea include intestinal infection by protozoal parasites, for example, giardiasis or cryptosporidiosis, and occasionally bacterial enteropathogens can cause a more protracted diarrhea. Unmasked gastrointestinal disease is seen in this setting occasionally, including irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and malabsorptive syndromes. Postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome, a recognized complication of bacterial enteric infection, has been shown to occur in as many as 10% of people after an episode of TD.
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- Information
- Clinical Infectious Disease , pp. 810 - 813Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2015