Prevention of Travelers' Diarrhea in Subjects Traveling Outside the U.S.

Travelers' diarrhea (TD) is the most common illness in travelers to the developing world, occurring in 60% or more of international travelers to high-risk areas. It can be quite debilitating for the usual 2 to 4 days of the illness and may lead to disruption of travel plans. Findings from recent studies have indicated that the chronic post-travel illness may prove to be of greater clinical and public health significance than the acute illness. Specifically, persistent diarrhea has been reported in 2% to 10% of travelers developing diarrhea. Moreover, bacterial enterocolitis, including that associated with TD, leads to post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome in 4% to 31% of patients.