The early history of the topic of traveler’s diarrhea is tied up with military campaigns, where soldiers classically have suffered more losses from diarrhea and dysentery than from war-related injury. The later history related more to international travelers, expatriates and short-term students spending time in high-risk areas.
Traveler’s diarrhea characterized by a 2 fold or greater increase in the frequency of unformed bowel movement, occurs in as many as 40% of all travelers overseas.
The classical clinical picture in traveler’s diarrhea is the sudden onset of profuse, water diarrhea. The stools are watery, perhaps yellow at the beginning, but later almost colorless and relatively odorless.
The diarrhea may accompanied by cramping, nausea, vomiting and chills. The patients may also complain of muscle and joint pain. Illness was generally seen within the first week of arrival to the high-risk area, with nearly all cases occurring within the first 2 weeks.
The illness lasted between 2 to 5 days and was self limiting, the younger travelers were at greatest risk, and recurrences occurred in about 15% of travelers remaining in the area of risk for 5 weeks.
Children, especially those less than 3 year of age, have a higher incidence of diarrhea, more-severe symptoms and more-prolonged symptoms than adults, with a reported attack rate of 60% for those less than 3 year of age in one study.
Traveler’s diarrhea
