twenty percent to 50% of travelers may develop diarrhea depending on the region of the world they visit. diarrhea is the most common illness of travelers. in general travelers at risk for diarrhea commonly come from industrialized nations and travel to high-risk areas that are primarily within developing or less industrialized nations of the world including latin america africa the middle east and asia. areas of lesser risk include china and some caribbean nations. travel to areas of the u. s. canada northern europe and australia pose the lowest risk to travelers. men and women are at equal risk for developing travelers' diarrhea. younger individuals are more commonly afflicted perhaps because of more adventurous eating habits. people with disorders that compromise their immune system (such as hiv cancer chemotherapy steroid use) diabetes patients and people with underlying abdominal disorders (irritable bowel syndrome colitis) are more susceptible to travelers' diarrhea. interestingly people on acid blockers for their stomachs -- such as famotidine (pepcid) cimetidine (tagamet) omeprazole (prilosec) and esomeprazole (nexium) -- also have a higher susceptibility to travelers' diarrhea because they have less stomach acid to protect them from the bacteria that cause the condition.
how common is travelers' diarrhea?