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Diarrhoea - prevention and advice for travellers - Management
Additional information
The risk for traveller's diarrhoea depends on:
- The country being visited — countries and places with generally poor standards of hygiene pose a greater risk.
- Local amenities and sanitation — for example in areas with poor sewage facilities or access to safe drinking water, there is a high risk of contamination and poor sanitation.
- How the person will be travelling — trekkers, campers, adventurers, and passengers on cruise ships are at increased risk.
- When the person will be travelling — the peak incidence of traveller's diarrhoea is in the summer. In South Asia, a higher rate of traveller's diarrhoea is reported during the hot months preceding the monsoon season.
- What the person eats — for example shellfish and other filter feeders (including mussels, oysters, and clams) tend to concentrate viral and bacterial pathogens and toxins.
- The person's susceptibility to illness — for example reduced acidity in the stomach is a risk factor for infection with acid-sensitive organisms such as Salmonella and Campylobacter [Neal et al, 1996].
[Ericsson, 2003; Al-Abri et al, 2005; CDC, 2009]
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