M.D. Earl H. Eye, Jr., M.D. is an Infectious Disease Specialist and Pulmonologist with the Clinic for Pulmonary and Infectious Diseases. International travel affects the lives of 100 million people each year. 1 Symptoms usually begin within two week of arrival in the country, with a typical incubation period from exposure of 3-5 days.
Rare cases are severe enough to warrant hospitalization.
The most common causes are gram negative bacteria, but viruses and intestinal parasites may also occur. The risk of infection and types of organism involved varies by country and time of year. 4,5 Staph aureus, Bacillus cerus, and Clostridia welchii exotoxin food poisoning also occur. Malaria can have diarrhea as an early manifestation. Presentation Travelers' diarrhea is considered a syndrome because of the number of etiological organisms.