I don't think people always understand the risks of not taking a few common-sense precautions to prevent acquiring infections when traveling (or they don't want to understand.)
You should avoid eating raw or undercooked eggs and meat or unpasteurized milk and cheese. Don't order your hamburgers rare (never, anywhere!) Drink bottled water with intact seals, don't eat salads or fruits in 3rd world countries unless you feel confident that they use clean produce and water and practice good hygiene. Eat fruit that you can peel yourself (or scrub well with bottled water first.) Be careful with iced drinks and ask how the ice was made - if they just freeze the local water then order beer or wine or bottled/canned soft drinks. Sure, it is easier and more fun not to bother with these inconvenient precautions, but the ramifications of blissful ignorance can be serious and long term. It's kind of a Russian roulette game, you may be fine but you might not be so lucky.
Many cases of traveler's diarrhea are short-term and caused by water-borne viruses. They can be miserable but usually only last a few days to a week and then you recover and that's the end of it. It can ruin your vacation but you will probably be fine in a short time.
But serious gastroenteritis infections can be caused by several bacterial organisms (Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Cholera, E. coli) and parasites (Entamoeba, Giardia). These "bugs" are all transmitted by drinking and eating water and food contaminated with human and/or animal feces.
I have had clinical microbiology students ask me "how can you tell that you have dysentery rather than just a bad stomach flu?" and I tell them "Because the symptoms are much more severe and you are cramping and vomiting and BLEEDING INTERNALLY and passing large amounts of blood in watery stools and IT CAN KILL YOU!"
These infectious organisms ulcerate and damage your intestinal track. If you have a healthy immune system, stay hydrated, and seek medical care if the symptoms persist, then you are likely to recover and that will be the end of it; but your intestines will be scarred. The parasitic infections (ameobas and flagellates) are difficult to eradicate and may come back periodically. The bacterial agents can sometimes cause systemic diseases like sepsis (blood poisoning) and severe Salmonella infections can result in arthritis. Even when the symptoms go away you might still become a carrier and can infect others, including your family, especially if you prepare/handle their food.
One species of Salmonella is called typhi, it is rare but it causes typhoid fever and it is a severe, life-threatening disease. I have been vaccinated against typhoid, but the vaccine is only 50-80% effective so food and water hygiene are still very important. Cholera is much less common in the Americas than Salmonella but it is an awful disease and can make you suffer terribly and even kill you.
I have a friend who's business required him to travel to Mexico frequently. He should have known better but he loved the local food and used to laugh and brag about how he "could eat anything" without any problems, and he admits that he also used to buy food from the street vendors pushing metal carts. He went on many trips and never got sick until he was infected with Toxoplasmosis, a blood parasite that can attack your major organs, especially the brain, and causes neurological damage.
It is very difficult to treat Toxoplasmosis and he has been under the long-term care of an infectious disease specialist. You get toxoplasmosis by eating raw or undercooked meat, handling cat feces, or eating unwashed fruits and vegetables, and unborn babies can contract it in the uterus if their mother carries the infection. It causes infections all over the world, including the US - that's why they tell pregnant women not to clean the cat's litter box - but it is much more common in some parts of the world and it is most prevalent of all in Latin America.
I will get off my soapbox soon; but over the years I have seen many hospitalized patients with serious infections that were acquired when traveling, including a small child with typhoid that almost died. And also serious infections that were contracted close to home, often through careless behavior, like the 2 young women that went to a popular club and ordered their hamburgers rare (E.coli); and I contracted a bad case of dysentery (Shigella) so I know first-hand about the severity of this illness.
My husband and I were swimming at a popular local lake. We were having fun and acting silly and he snuck up from behind to dunk me. I was taken by surprise and gasped and inadvertently drank a few mouthfuls of lake water before I came up laughing and sputtering. Within a day or two I was running a fever, vomiting, experiencing violent cramps, and passing bloody diarrhea. I was culture-positive for Shigella and the Public Health Department called to ask if I was a "food-handler".
It is not an experience I would ever care to repeat and I wouldn't wish it on anybody. Of course, there are no 100% guarantees, and you can get sick anywhere, and you can't go through life afraid of everything. There are always risks; but it just makes sense to take a few precautions, especially when visiting areas where the risks are higher. These are my opinions but they are based on experience and medical evidence.
You should avoid eating raw or undercooked eggs and meat or unpasteurized milk and cheese. Don't order your hamburgers rare (never, anywhere!) Drink bottled water with intact seals, don't eat salads or fruits in 3rd world countries unless you feel confident that they use clean produce and water and practice good hygiene. Eat fruit that you can peel yourself (or scrub well with bottled water first.) Be careful with iced drinks and ask how the ice was made - if they just freeze the local water then order beer or wine or bottled/canned soft drinks. Sure, it is easier and more fun not to bother with these inconvenient precautions, but the ramifications of blissful ignorance can be serious and long term. It's kind of a Russian roulette game, you may be fine but you might not be so lucky.
Many cases of traveler's diarrhea are short-term and caused by water-borne viruses. They can be miserable but usually only last a few days to a week and then you recover and that's the end of it. It can ruin your vacation but you will probably be fine in a short time.
But serious gastroenteritis infections can be caused by several bacterial organisms (Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Cholera, E. coli) and parasites (Entamoeba, Giardia). These "bugs" are all transmitted by drinking and eating water and food contaminated with human and/or animal feces.
I have had clinical microbiology students ask me "how can you tell that you have dysentery rather than just a bad stomach flu?" and I tell them "Because the symptoms are much more severe and you are cramping and vomiting and BLEEDING INTERNALLY and passing large amounts of blood in watery stools and IT CAN KILL YOU!"
These infectious organisms ulcerate and damage your intestinal track. If you have a healthy immune system, stay hydrated, and seek medical care if the symptoms persist, then you are likely to recover and that will be the end of it; but your intestines will be scarred. The parasitic infections (ameobas and flagellates) are difficult to eradicate and may come back periodically. The bacterial agents can sometimes cause systemic diseases like sepsis (blood poisoning) and severe Salmonella infections can result in arthritis. Even when the symptoms go away you might still become a carrier and can infect others, including your family, especially if you prepare/handle their food.
One species of Salmonella is called typhi, it is rare but it causes typhoid fever and it is a severe, life-threatening disease. I have been vaccinated against typhoid, but the vaccine is only 50-80% effective so food and water hygiene are still very important. Cholera is much less common in the Americas than Salmonella but it is an awful disease and can make you suffer terribly and even kill you.
I have a friend who's business required him to travel to Mexico frequently. He should have known better but he loved the local food and used to laugh and brag about how he "could eat anything" without any problems, and he admits that he also used to buy food from the street vendors pushing metal carts. He went on many trips and never got sick until he was infected with Toxoplasmosis, a blood parasite that can attack your major organs, especially the brain, and causes neurological damage.
It is very difficult to treat Toxoplasmosis and he has been under the long-term care of an infectious disease specialist. You get toxoplasmosis by eating raw or undercooked meat, handling cat feces, or eating unwashed fruits and vegetables, and unborn babies can contract it in the uterus if their mother carries the infection. It causes infections all over the world, including the US - that's why they tell pregnant women not to clean the cat's litter box - but it is much more common in some parts of the world and it is most prevalent of all in Latin America.
I will get off my soapbox soon; but over the years I have seen many hospitalized patients with serious infections that were acquired when traveling, including a small child with typhoid that almost died. And also serious infections that were contracted close to home, often through careless behavior, like the 2 young women that went to a popular club and ordered their hamburgers rare (E.coli); and I contracted a bad case of dysentery (Shigella) so I know first-hand about the severity of this illness.
My husband and I were swimming at a popular local lake. We were having fun and acting silly and he snuck up from behind to dunk me. I was taken by surprise and gasped and inadvertently drank a few mouthfuls of lake water before I came up laughing and sputtering. Within a day or two I was running a fever, vomiting, experiencing violent cramps, and passing bloody diarrhea. I was culture-positive for Shigella and the Public Health Department called to ask if I was a "food-handler".
It is not an experience I would ever care to repeat and I wouldn't wish it on anybody. Of course, there are no 100% guarantees, and you can get sick anywhere, and you can't go through life afraid of everything. There are always risks; but it just makes sense to take a few precautions, especially when visiting areas where the risks are higher. These are my opinions but they are based on experience and medical evidence.
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