A microbiologist's guide to travellers abroad: do as I say not as I do

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Microbiology
• Travel Medicine

Background:

• Traveler's diarrhea (TD) is a common illness affecting international travelers.
• Prophylactic antibiotic use for TD is not standard practice among clinical microbiologists.
• Limited data exists on the efficacy and safety of prophylactic antibiotics in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the practice of prophylactic antibiotic prescription for TD among clinical microbiologists.
• To assess the incidence of TD among microbiologists who self-prescribed prophylactic antibiotics during travel.

Main Methods:

• A survey was conducted among clinical microbiologists regarding their prescribing habits for TD prophylaxis.
• A subset of Hospital Infection Society (HIS) members traveling to India self-administered daily ciprofloxacin prophylaxis.
• The occurrence of diarrhea was monitored in the group taking prophylactic antibiotics.

Main Results:

• Only 2% of surveyed clinical microbiologists reported prescribing prophylactic antibiotics for TD.
• During a HIS visit to India, 5 out of 18 (28%) attendees took daily ciprofloxacin prophylaxis.
• None of the attendees who took ciprofloxacin prophylaxis developed diarrhea during the trip.

Conclusions:

• While not a common practice, prophylactic antibiotics like ciprofloxacin may be effective in preventing TD in travelers.
• Further research is warranted to establish guidelines for prophylactic antibiotic use in specific high-risk travel scenarios.