Related Experiment Videos
[Traveller's diarrhea: which vaccines?]
1Programme mondial des vaccins et de la vaccination, OMS, Genève, Suisse.
Insights
Diarrheal diseases cause millions of deaths annually, especially in developing nations. This review explores vaccines to prevent these infections in travelers, complementing hygiene measures.
Area of Science:
- Medical Microbiology
- Vaccinology
- Infectious Diseases
Context:
- Diarrheal diseases represent a significant global health burden, leading to substantial child morbidity and mortality.
- Contaminated food and water are primary transmission routes for pathogens like Shigella, ETEC, Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella typhi, and rotavirus.
- Standard hygiene recommendations are often insufficient for travelers, necessitating additional preventive strategies.
Purpose:
- To provide an overview of existing and emerging vaccines for preventing traveler's diarrhea.
- To highlight the importance of vaccination in controlling diarrheal diseases transmitted through contaminated sources.
Summary:
- Diarrheal diseases and typhoid fever contribute to approximately 2.5 million deaths globally each year.
- Key pathogens include Shigella spp., enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella typhi, and rotavirus.
- Vaccine development offers a promising complementary approach to hygiene for preventing these infections in travelers.
Impact:
- Vaccination can significantly reduce the incidence and severity of diarrheal diseases in travelers.
- The development of new vaccines can improve public health outcomes, particularly in high-risk populations.
- Enhanced vaccine availability may decrease healthcare burdens associated with treating diarrheal illnesses.
Abstract:
Diarrheal diseases are a major cause of child morbidity and mortality, particularly in developing countries. It is estimated that diarrheal diseases and typhoid fever cause around 2.5 million deaths per year in the world. Four bacteria and one virus share this responsibility: Shigella spp, Escherichia coli ETEC, Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella typhi and rotavirus. People travelling in countries with high endemicity of diarrhoeal diseases risk facing these four bacteria or the less common rotavirus, which is usually active in infants, even though some cases of diarrhoea due to rotavirus have already been reported in adults. The usual recommendations concerning basic measures of hygiene are most of the time quickly forgotten and followed only by a small number of travellers (12). Therefore, apart these useful recommendations, it is therefore necessary to consider complementary actions for controlling these diseases which are mainly transmitted by contaminated water and food. This article aims at giving an overview of currently available and future vaccines for preventing travellers' diarrheas.