Who are at High Risk of Acute Diarrhea?

If you are living in the United States or in other developed industrial countries you may be at high risk of contacting acute diarrhea, especially due to pathogenic microorganisms. The are five different groups of people who are at high risk of acute diarrhea in compare to normal population.

These five high risk groups include (1) travelers, especially international travelers to developing countries, (2) immunocompromized persons (e.g. AIDS patients), (3) consumers of certain foods, (4) hospitalized persons, especially long term hospital stay, and (5) attendants of day care centers and their family members.

1. Travelers: 4 out of 10 tourists who visit Asia, Africa or Latin America develop “travelers diarrhea” mostly due to enterotoxigenic or enteroaggregative Escherichia coli. Travelers diarrhea can also be caused by other organisms such as Campylobacter, Shigella, Aeromonas, norovirus, Coronavirus and Salmonella. Different organisms are responsible for travelers diarrhea in different regions of the world e.g. visitors to Nepal may acquire Cyclospora. If you are in a cruise ship you may be infected with Norwalk virus, which cause outbreaks of gastroenteritis in cruise ships.    
2. Immunodeficient persons: They have high risk of diarrhea due to lowered immunity and can be infected by organisms that generally can not initiate a pathological infection. Common intestinal pathogens, including some normal intestinal microflora can cause infection in immunocompromized hosts.
3. Consumers of certain foods: People attending large social gatherings such as picnic, banquet are also at high risk of acute diarrhea.
4. Hospitalized persons: The longer the hospital stay the higher is the risk of acute nosocomial (hospital acquired) diarrhea. The most common causative agent in nosocomial diarrhea is Clostridium difficile.
5. Attendants of day care centers: The attendants of day care centers as well as their family members are at high risk of acute diarrhea. Common organisms involved are rotavirus, Shigella, Giardia, Cryptosporidium etc.

So if you are in any of the above mentioned five categories, you should keep an eye on what you eat and what you drink to keep the acute diarrhea away. Avoid eating food from open sources if you are in a developing country, where food items are openly sold.

Related posts:

1. Acute Diarrhea
2. Know About Traveler’s Diarrhea
3. Prevention of Traveler’s Diarrhea
4. The Global Burden of Diarrhea
5. Diarrhea after International Travel
6. Causes of Chronic Diarrhea
7. Self-Treatment of Traveler’s Diarrhea
8. Treatment of Traveler’s Diarrhea
9. The Burden of Constipation
10. Prevention of Diseases During Travel