Abstract
Of 35 US Peace Corps volunteers in Thailand, 20 (57%) had a total of 30 episodes of diarrhoea during their first 6 weeks in the country. Enteric pathogens were associated with 90% of the episodes. A single pathogen was identified in 17 (57%) episodes, 2-4 pathogens were identified in 10 (33%) episodes, and there were 15 symptomless infections. Enterotoxigenic
Escherichia coli (ETEC) was identified in 37% of these episodes, and various salmonella serotypes were isolated in 33%. Infections with 9 other enteric pathogens were also identified:
Campylobacter jejuni (17%),
Plesiomonas shigelloides (13%),
Aeromonas hydrophila (10%),
Blastocystis hominis (7%), Norwalk virus (7%),
Vibrio parahaemolyticus(3%), non-01
Vibrio cholerae (3%),
Vibrio fluvialis (3%), and rotavirus (3%). In total, 56 enteric infections were documented in 35 volunteers.