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This is a common affliction affecting many travellers. It is defined as "the
occurrence of three or more unformed stools each day during or after a journey,
or any number of such stools when accompanied by fever, cramping abdominal pain
or vomiting".
Generally, symptoms begin early in a trip (but can occur at any time) and last
for around 4 days. About 10% of patients with traveller's diarrhoea have dysentery
(bloody diarrhoea).
The proportion of travellers from the UK who develop diarrhoea varies with
respect to destination (1):
- in high risk destinations (e.g. South America, Africa, some parts of the
Middle East and most of Asia) 20-50% of travellers develop diarrhoea
- in intermediate-rsk areas (e.g. Israel, Japan, Southern Europe, South Africa
and some of the Caribbean islands) about 20% of travellers develop diarrhoea
- in low-risk areas (e.g. Northern Europe, North America, New Zealand and
Australia) less than 8% of travellers develop diarrhoea
Reference:
- Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin (2002), 40(5), 36-38.
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