If you’re heading to the tropics this summer, know that you have a one in two chance of coming back with multi-resistant bacteria in addition to your memories, according to a new scientific study.
Noting that the bacteria multidrug-resistant were very present in tropical areas, a team of French researchers took an interest in the risk that foreign travelers have of bringing back these bacteria .
In their work published in the journal Clinical Infectious Disease, researchers from Paris hospitals and Inserm (National Institute for Health and Medical Research) focused on multi-resistant enterobacteria (or EMR), small bacteria naturally present in our digestive system. But while some are completely safe, others can cause serious infections. And as the name suggests, some are resistant to antibiotics, making it even harder to treat the infection.
From February 2012 to April 2013, 824 travelers planning to visit tropical areas were subject to levies before and after their trip. Those whose stools revealed the presence of multidrug-resistant bacteria also underwent faecal tests at 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 months after their birth. return from the tropics, or until MRE has disappeared from the analyzes.
In total, the study shows that of the 824 travelers tested, 574 were not carriers of EMR before their departure. But 292 of them, or 50.9%, came back with one to two multidrug-resistant enteric diseases. According to the results, people returning from Asia (72.4%) were the most affected, ahead of those returning from Sub-Saharan Africa (47.7%) and Latin America (31.1%).
In addition, contamination by resistant enterobacteria seems to be facilitated by the occurrence of diarrhea, by taking antibiotics and also depends on the type of trip.
But for all that, there is nothing to be overly alarmed about according to scientists, since three months after their return, only 4.7% of travelers who contracted MRE still had it in their analyzes. The authors therefore recommend special monitoring of travelers returning from tropical areas, but not beyond three months.
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