[Epidemiology of travel diarrhea]

Travelers' diarrhea is the most frequent health problem during a stay in developing countries. A recent study basing on interviews with 16,568 charter flight passengers returning to Europe from 13 destinations in various climatic regions provides epidemiological data on a worldwide scale. Significant differences in diarrheal incidence varied not only between individual destinations, but also between hotels in the same area. The highest incidence for a two weeks' stay exceeded 50% in some regions of North and West Africa. Persons under 30 were more often affected than older travelers. Within international groups meeting in developing countries, the risk varied according to the patient's country of origin, with the residents of industrialized nations being most often affected. Even in the tropics, diarrhea usually takes a short and mild course. The various regions show unessential differences in chronology and symptomatology. E. coli is the most frequent causative agent of this ailment.