Following up on The Ten Worst Travel-Related Diseases post, Terry Ward at Forbes Travel interviewed Dr. Steve Berger for her article, 8 most common travel illnesses. Steve spoke about diarrhea:

“It’s very hard to avoid. About 40 percent of people will get diarrhea when traveling in an undeveloped country, which covers most of the world,” says Dr. Stephen Berger, founder and medical advisor for GIDEON, an online infectious diseases database. Exposure to different strains of the E. coli bacteria, present in all of our bodies, says Berger, is what usually causes diarrhea in travelers, and it can happen in any country.

… referenced chikungunya:

“And with the chikungunya outbreak in Italy in 2007, that’s not tropical any more either,” says Dr. Berger, referring to another mosquito-borne illness that manifests with terrible joint pain, muscle pain, a fever, and often a rash. An outbreak in Ravenna, Italy, in 2007 showed the disease was spreading beyond the tropical realm. “The mosquitoes that cause these things turn out to be mosquitoes that also invade non-tropical areas,” says Berger, “Chikungunya is extremely common in the Indian Ocean region, and it’s becoming more and more common to see it in travelers in the U.S. and Europe, too.”

and more.

Read both the article and the slide show.

Virtually everything that we humans do for pleasure could place us at risk for illness, or even death. In recent years, a growing variety of medical conditions has been reported among travelers. The ‘top-ten’ from this list follow:

1. Diarrhea – Not the most serious, but certainly the most common. Roughly 40% of travelers to less-developed countries will develop diarrhea within 48 hours of arrival. Much of the next few days of touring will be seriously damaged by searching for a clean bathroom … or even toilet paper. In recent years, scores of ocean voyages have been cut short by mass outbreaks of vomiting and diarrhea – related to Norovirus infection.
2. Skin disorders due to sun, heat, humidity and insect bites. Like diarrhea, not life threatening – but no fun while touring.
3. Insect-borne fevers. Dengue and Chikungunya are becoming increasingly common and are no longer limited to “local natives.” Both diseases are characterized by headache, high fever, muscle and joint pain. The incubation periods are short – meaning that the traveler is likely to still be on the road, with no chance for continued tourism and the risk of exposure to sub-standard health care.
4. (more…)