Clostridium difficile infection in returning travellers

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Travel Med
• Personal Author:
  Stevens, A. Michal ; Esposito, Douglas H. ; Stoney, Rhett J. ; Hamer, Davidson H. ; Flores-Figueroa, Jose ; Bottieau, Emmanuel ; Connor, Bradley A. ; Gkrania-Klotsas, Effrossyni ; Goorhuis, Abraham ; Hynes, Noreen A. ; Libman, Michael ; Lopez-Velez, Rogelio ; McCarthy, Anne E. ; von Sonnenburg, Frank ; Schwartz, Eli ; van Genderen, Perry J.J. ; Benson, L. Scott ; Leung, Daniel T.
• Corporate Authors:
  for the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network
• Description:
  Background
  
  There is increasing recognition of the contribution of community-acquired cases to the global burden of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). The epidemiology of CDI among international travellers is poorly understood, and factors associated with international travel, such as antibiotic use and changes in gut microbiota, could potentially put travellers at higher risk.
  
  Methods
  
  We summarized demographic, travel-associated and geographic characteristics of travellers with CDI in the GeoSentinel database from 1997 to 2015. We also surveyed GeoSentinel sites to compare various testing indications, approaches, and diagnostic modalities.
  
  Results
  
  We identified 260 GeoSentinel records, including 187 that satisfied criteria for analysis (confirmed cases in non-immigrant travellers aged >2 years, seen <12 weeks post-travel). CDI was reported in all age groups and in travellers to all world regions; the largest proportions of cases having destinations in Asia (31%), Central/South America or the Caribbean (30%) and Africa (24%). Our site survey revealed substantial heterogeneity of testing approaches between sites; the most commonly used test was the C. difficile toxin gene PCR.
  
  Conclusions
  
  CDI is encountered in returning international travellers, although there is considerable variability in testing practices. These data underscore the importance of awareness of C. difficile as a potential cause of travel-associated diarrhoea.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Adult Aged Aged, 80 And Over Article Child Child, Preschool Clostridioides Difficile Clostridium Difficile Clostridium Infections Diarrhoea Female Global Health Humans Male Middle Aged Population Surveillance Travellers Travel Medicine Young Adult

  More +
• Source:
  J Travel Med. 24(3)
• Pubmed ID:
  28355613
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC5697897
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/ ; G0701652/MRC_/Medical Research CouncilUnited Kingdom/
• Volume:
  24
• Issue:
  3
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:ce6f75d4b650d57b3623f03106a89a0eab9a8a1898880d88541d3883eacf2e89
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/49945/cdc_49945_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 164.07 KB ]