Some destinations are associated with increased risks regardless

Some destinations are associated with increased risks regardless of age. To prevent travelers from contracting diarrhea, adequate measures should focus on specific subpopulations. Travelers’ diarrhea is one of the most predominant health AZD1208 supplier threats among international travelers.1–3 Some

reports estimate that 20% to 50% of people traveling from industrialized countries to developing countries experience travelers’ diarrhea.4–6 Although most cases are mild and self-limiting, associated morbidity can affect the traveler’s well-being.1,3 Moreover, an exotic pathogen could spread from endemic regions to other communities.7,8 Thus, preventing travelers’ diarrhea is an important public health issue. To reduce traveler’s diarrhea, realistic preventive measures should be established based on accurate epidemiological findings.8 Unfortunately, however, reliable

information is scarce, as most relevant research has been conducted without denominator data and results might therefore be biased.7,9–11 Ideally, specific subpopulations with increased risk of travelers’ diarrhea should be identified based on data covering all relevant travelers. The quarantine station at Narita International Airport is the largest this website quarantine office in Japan and is responsible for checking more than half of the international passengers from abroad. The aims of this study were to undertake a descriptive analysis of the epidemiology of travelers’ diarrhea many and to determine the factors associated with contracting this disorder. We estimated diarrhea incidence using Immigration Bureau data as the denominator and quarantine data as the numerator. Specifically, we retrospectively investigated the characteristics of passengers arriving with diarrhea in terms of age, sex, seasonality, and travel destination. Travelers’ diarrhea was defined as “the passage of three or more unformed stools per 24 hour period, with at least one passage accompanied

by symptoms of nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps or pain, fever or blood in the stool”12,13 during or shortly after travel. Travel destination was arbitrarily defined as “the location of the departing airport of the aircraft arriving at Narita International Airport,” because we had no information on each traveler’s travel route. The study was conducted at quarantine station, Narita International Airport, approximately 60 km east of central Tokyo. In 2003, this was the 26th busiest passenger airport and third busiest freight hub worldwide. The airport has two separate terminal buildings, and each building has two different quarantine stations with health consultation rooms. All arriving passengers are requested to report any health problems during the previous 4 weeks. The station distributes questionnaires mainly to passengers from cholera- and shigella-endemic countries/areas. Upon visiting the health consultation rooms, quarantine doctors ask for a detailed travel history and perform a physical examination.

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