Infection with bacterial enteropathogens in Swedish travellers to South-East Asia--a prospective study.
Infection with potential bacterial enteropathogens was studied prospectively in 94 Swedish travellers. Three faecal samples were collected, regardless of diarrhoeal symptoms, after each of three 1-week stays in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. The specimens were analyzed for salmonella, shigella, yersinia, campylobacter and different enterotoxin-producing bacteria. A potential enteropathogen was identified in 30% (28/94) of the participants, i.e. in 26% of the healthy and in 39% of the travellers with diarrhoea. The most common isolates were enterotoxigenic bacteria of different species (14%), salmonella (11%) and campylobacter (7%). By performing enterotoxin-tests on six different colonies from the primary culture of each specimen enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) as well as enterotoxin-producing Klebsiella sp., Citrobacter sp. and Morganella morganii were identified. The latter strains were as prevalent as ETEC. In the 33 participants with diarrhoea enterotoxigenic bacteria (18%) and campylobacter (18%) were the most common isolates. Campylobacter-infected travellers developed symptomatic disease (6/7) significantly (P less than 0.02) more often than those infected with salmonella (3/10) or enterotoxigenic bacteria (6/13; 2 ETEC, 4 other species).
Ahrén
C M
CM
Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Göteborg, Sweden.
Jertborn
M
M
Herclik
L
L
Kaijser
B
B
Svennerholm
A M
AM
D000328:Adult; D001210:Asia, Southeastern / Q000453:epidemiology; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004405:Dysentery, Bacillary / Q000453:epidemiology; D004756:Enterobacteriaceae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012480:Salmonella Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D013548:Sweden / Q000208:ethnology; D014195:Travel; D015009:Yersinia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology
D004768:Enterotoxins