Travelers' diarrhea commonly affects visitors to Guatemala and Belize. Advise travelers to follow instructions on safe food and water precautions (see Sec. 2, Ch. 8, Food & Water Precautions).
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Traveling to Eastern Europe, South Africa, Central and East Asia, the Middle East, and a few Caribbean islands also poses some risk. However, your risk of traveler's diarrhea is generally low in Northern and Western Europe, Japan, Canada, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
Traveler's diarrhea is a digestive tract disorder that commonly causes loose stools and stomach cramps. It's caused by eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water. Fortunately, traveler's diarrhea usually isn't serious in most people — it's just unpleasant.
Travellers' diarrhoea tends to happen in the first week of travel. Symptoms last on average 3 to 5 days and usually get better without you needing specific treatment.
Drink canned fruit juices, weak tea, clear soup, decaffeinated soda or sports drinks to replace lost fluids and minerals. Later, as your diarrhea improves, try a diet of easy-to-eat complex carbohydrates, such as salted crackers, bland cereals, bananas, applesauce, dry toast or bread, rice, potatoes, and plain noodles.
Criminal activity, including murder, armed robbery, home invasions, mugging and sexual assault, is a significant problem throughout Belize. There's a high level of gang-related violence in the Southside of Belize City (south of Haulover Creek Canal), including murders and shootings.
Most cases of TD are the result of bacterial infection and are short-lived and self-limited. In addition to immunosuppression and sequential infection with diarrheal pathogens, ongoing infection with protozoan parasites can cause prolonged diarrheal symptoms.
You probably have traveler's diarrhea if you have at least three loose stools in 24 hours. You also will have one or more of the following symptoms: fever, vomiting, stomach cramps, or bloody stools. You also can have a milder case with sudden watery diarrhea and stomach cramps.