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Traveler's Diarrhea Causes

You can become infected by eating or drinking food or water that has come in contact with feces. Food and water become contaminated when they are handled by people with fecal content on their hands—not in direct contact with feces. Restaurants are common sites for exposure to this type of food poisoning. Food from street vendors is even more risky. Eating in a private home is the safest food source.

• High-risk food and drink: Certain items are considered high risk for transmission and include the following:
  
  
  • Raw or undercooked meats
    
    
  • Raw leafy vegetables
    
    
  • Seafood
    
    
  • Unpeeled fruits
    
    
  • Unpasteurized dairy products
    
    
  • Tap water (A common mistake travelers make is to avoid tap water but to place ice cubes in a beverage. Contaminated ice is still able to transmit disease. Do not use ice cubes.)
    
    

• Safe products to eat and drink
  
  
  • Bottled carbonated beverages
    
    
  • Hot coffee or tea
    
    
  • Water boiled or treated appropriately with chlorine

• Specific bacterial causes: Up to 85% of traveler's diarrhea is caused by bacteria. The remaining cases are caused by viruses and protozoa. The most common organism causing traveler’s diarrhea is Escherichia coli accounting for up to 72% of cases in some regions.

• Other bacterial causes
  
  
  • Subtypes of E coli
    
    
  • Shigella species
    
    
  • Salmonella species
    
    
  • Campylobacter jejuni
    
    
  • Vibrio species

• Protozoa causing traveler's diarrhea
  
  
  • Giardia duodenalis, known as giardiasis
    
    
  • Entamoeba histolytica
    
    
  • Cryptosporidium parvum

• Viral causes
  
  
  • Norwalk virus
    
    
  • Rotavirus virus
    
    
  • Enteroviruses