Infecţii intestinale ale epocii moderne: diareea călătorului prin ochiul clinicianului.

Travellers' diarrhea is one of the most frequent diseases, which affects 30-70% of the persons who are travelling from high developed to less developed areas, its prevalence depending on the region and season. The risk of developing this condition involves both the host's susceptibility, but also its behaviour; for example, younger people and those with achlorhydria or immunocompromised persons are more prone to this pathology than the general population. Also, the consumption of certain food, insufficiently prepared or improperly stored or cooked can be the source of the pathogen. The clinical manifestations have an abrupt onset and are most commonly represented by diarrhea with or without blood, abdominal pain, nausea and sometimes fever. Taking into consideration the often short period of the travelling and the fast symptom onset, a rapid diagnosis could be only clinically established, based on epidemiological circumstances and clinical patient features. Due to a very frequent bacterial etiology (80-90%), the treatment consists of empirical administration of antibiotics associated with symptomatic medication and hydroelectrolyte rebalancing formulas which all together shorten the healing process. Recommended antibiotics are those less absorbable or the non-absorbable ones, like rifaximine-α. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]