Heat-labile enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and intestinal protozoa in asymptomatic travellers.
Thirty-two asymptomatic travellers who had recently journeyed in the Near, Middle, and Far East and had experienced a high incidence of diarrhoeal disease were screened for heat-labile enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ent+ E. coli) and other bacterial and parasitic pathogens. Six percent were colonized with ent+ E. coli and while other bacterial pathogens were not found, the intestinal protozoa Giardia lamblia (13%), Entamoeba histolytica (6%), Entamoeba coli (6%), Endolimax nana (6%), and Entamoeba hartmanni (3%) were detected in the stools. Ent+ E. coli, G. lamblia and E. histolytica should be considered in the differential diagnosis of gastrointestinal disease in travellers returning from the Orient. Furthermore, these travellers may be a potential source for the introduction of ent+ E. coli into communities where such organisms are relatively rare.
D000328:Adult; D001208:Asia; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000209:etiology*; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011528:Protozoan Infections; D014195:Travel; D014481:United States
D004768:Enterotoxins