DIARRHEA OF TRAVELERS TO MEXICO

Abstract

A clinic was established at Universidad de las Americas, Cholula, Puebla, Mexico for the study of acute diarrhea rates in newly-arrived students and full-time students. Diarrhea occurred in 22 of 55 newly-arrived U.S. summer students (40%), compared to 28 of 142 U.S. full-time students (20%), 4 of 29 Venezuelan summer a. j full-time students (14%) and 7 of 66 Mexican full-time students (11%) (the differences were significant, p < 0.005). Recurrent episodes of diarrhea during the month of study occurred in 15% of U.S. summer students, 4% of U.S. full-time students, and were non-existent in students from Latin America. As well as the 61 students with diarrhea e olled in the incidence study, all students who developed diarrhea at the university were encouraged to visit the clinic. This gave a total population of 130 cases of diarrhea. The illness that developed in students from the U.S. varied widely, but it typically consisted of seven to 13 unformed stools during the first 48 hours of illness, with illness persisting three to five days. Illness tended to be more severe in the U.S. students. Fifty per cent of the U.S. students with diarrhea had “severe” illness (≧10 unformed stools in first 48 hours) compared to 23% of the Latin Americans. This study indicates that the agents responsible for diarrhea in Latin America are widespread and that resistance to infection develops after prolonged or repeated exposure.