ABSTRACT
The commonest travel-associated illness is travellers’ diarrhoea. The incidence among travellers varies not only from country to country but also within countries and from season to season (Figure 3.1). Travellers’ diarrhoea, which may only be a mild disturbance of bowel function or at the other extreme may cause severe fluid loss and prostration, has been well recognised throughout the ages. In spite of this, there remains a major lack of detailed knowledge of the epidemiology and micro-biological routes of spread, both of which are important factors necessary for the development of effective control measures. This does not, however, imply a total lack of knowledge or absence of control measures, although the ongoing high incidence of travellers’ diar rhoea in some popular tourist areas indicates the need for further studies.
