Traveler's diarrhea pathophysiology

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Pathophysiology

• The transmission and pathogenesis of traveler's diarrhea is dependent on the infectious agent.
• The following table summarizes the natural reservoir, transmission, and pathogenesis of common infectious agents associated with traveler's diarrhea:

Infectious Agent	Characteristics	Reservoir	Common Mode of Transmission	Pathogenesis
Bacteria
	E. coli (ETEC)	Gram-negative rod	Humans and animals	Fecal-oral route Contaminated ground beef, unpasteurized mild, cheese, vegetables, or water	Enterotoxin-mediated: secretion of heat-labile toxin (LT) and heat-stable toxin (ST)
	Campylobacter jejuni	Gram-negative rod	Humans and animals	Fecal-oral route Contaminated meat, unpasteurized mild, cheese, vegetables, or water Exposure to infected animals	Enterotoxin-mediated: secretion of cholera-like enterotoxin
	Shigella spp.	Gram-negative rod	Humans only	Fecal-oral route Contaminated meat and pork, unpasteurized mild, cheese, vegetables, or water	Low inoculum sufficient for infection (resistant to gastric acid) Enterotoxin-mediated: secretion of Shiga toxin Invasion of macrophages and induction of cellular apoptosis Intracellular spread by actin polymerization processes (rocket propulsion)
	Salmonella spp.	Gram-negative rod	S. typhi: Humans only Other Salmonella spp.: Humans and animals	Fecal-oral route Contaminated raw egg shells, poultry, unpasteurized mild, cheese, vegetables, or water	High inoculum sufficient for infection (inactivated by gastric acid) Vi capsule endotoxin prevents opsonization and lysis Spread through the reticuloendothelial system
Viruses
	Norovirus	Positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus	Humans and animals	Fecal-oral route Contaminated food, vegetables, and water Fomites	Aerosol exposure Virus uses P2 subdomain for binding and HBGA for attachment on host cell
	Rotavirus	Double-stranded RNA virus	Humans and animals	Fecal-oral route Fomites	Poorly understood pathogenesis Viral replication in villous epithelium of host small intestine
	Protozoa
		Giardia lamblia	Anerobic, flagellated protozoan parasite	Humans and animals	Ingestion of cysts in water or uncooked foods Fecal-oral route	Attaches to the epithelium by a ventral adhesive disc, and reproduces via binary fission Usually luminal infection, no hematogenous spread
Entamoeba histolytica		Anaerobic parasitic protozoa with pseudopods	Humans Rare (but present) in animals	Ingestion of cysts in water Fecal-oral route	Excystation in the small intestine and migration to the large intestine Luminal and extraluminal infection, hematogenous spread common
Cryptosporidium		Spore-forming parasite	Humans and animals	Ingestion of oocytes in water Fecal-oral route	Minimally invasive, surface-level mucosal inflammation Usually luminal infection, potential to infect biliary tree