BACKGROUND Diarrhea is the most common illness associated with international tourism. We evaluated the efficacy of a probiotic preparation of nonviable Lactobacillus acidophilus (hereafter referred to as LA) for the prevention of traveler's diarrhea. METHODS We conducted a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial. Travelers were randomized to receive either LA or placebo twice daily from 1 ...

Infantile pyknocytosis (IP) is a rare, self-limited neonatal haemolytic anaemia that may require multiple blood transfusions. Only a little more than 50 cases have been reported in the medical literature, and the great majority of them concerns term infants. The etiology of IP is not well understood; most likely it results from a transient extra-corpuscular factor, whose nature is unknown, tran...

Vaccines are now available to combat rotavirus, the most common cause of severe diarrhea among children worldwide. We review clinical trial data for available rotavirus vaccines and summarize postlicensure data on effectiveness, impact, and safety from countries routinely using these vaccines in national programs. In these countries, rotavirus vaccines have reduced all-cause diarrhea and rotavi...

BACKGROUND Incidence rates of travellers' diarrhoea (TD) need to be updated and risk factors are insufficiently known. METHODS Between July 2006 and January 2008 adult customers of our Centre for Travel Health travelling to a resource-limited country for the duration of 1 to 8 weeks were invited to participate in a prospective cohort study. They received one questionnaire pre-travel and a sec...

AIM The purpose of this study was to find the isolation rate of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) from lettuce samples collected in Tehran. BACKGROUND During the last decade, the prevalence of infectious diarrheal diseases due to consumption of contaminated food especially raw vegetable has been increasingly reported. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli strains are an important group of ...

Cryptosporidium spp is a ubiquitous parasite that has long been recognized as a frequent cause of protozoal diarrhea in humans. While infections in immunocompetent hosts are usually self-limiting, immunocompromised individuals can develop severe, chronic, and life-threatening illness. Vaccine development or immunotherapy that prevents disease or reduces the severity of infection is a relevant o...

Faeces (n = 1319) were examined over three months for the presence of non-sorbitol fermenting, verotoxin producing Escherichia coli (serotype 0157). Seven isolates were found, four from patients with bloodstained diarrhoea and three from patients with no evidence of blood in the faeces. Screening of all faecal samples with specific 0157 antiserum for non-sorbitol fermenting organisms and agglut...

OBJECTIVES (1) To investigate the impact of perinatal common mental disorders (CMD) in Ethiopia on the risk of key illnesses of early infancy: diarrhoea, fever and acute respiratory illnesses (ARI) and (2) to explore the potential mediating role of maternal health behaviours. DESIGN Population-based cohort study. SETTING Demographic surveillance site in a predominantly rural area of Ethiopi...

The aim of the study was to determine the perceptions of mothers regarding the causes and management of diarrhoea of their children aged 0-24 months. In Enugu State, Nigeria, 80 market women whose children had diarrhoea during last 6 months were interviewed fortnightly. When possible, the children were observed to determine the types of diarrhoea and treatments given. Fifty-three of the women b...

INTRODUCTION Traveller's diarrhoea (TD), defined by UNICEF/WHO as three or more unformed stools with or without other symptoms, imposes a considerable burden on travellers from developed countries. Various efforts have focused on decreasing the prevalence and severity of this condition. AIM To assess the efficacy of a combination of sodium butyrate, organic acids, and A-300 silicon dioxide in...