Kendra Osai Biology Lab Herbert L. Dupont, Greg Galler, Francisco Garcia-Torres, Andre W.

Dupont, Anthony Greisinger, and Zhi-Dong Jiang (2010) Travel and Travelers Diarrhea in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 82 (2) 301-305 Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, has become one of the most common abnormality that concerns gastrointestinal tract. It can cause severe pain in the intestines. Of all the people who have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Approximately 7-31% of IBS cases develop after a discrete bout of infectious diarrhea and are referred to as post-infectious IBS (PI-IBS) cases. At this time, it is not known as to why Irritable Bowel Syndrome happens. Acute gastrointestinal infections leading to PI-IBS occur after exposure to enteropathogens, usually bacterial, and often develop during a period of travel, especially to non-industrialized areas such as Latin America, Africa, and southern Asia. which are a form of bacteria. Prospective studies have found that PI-IBS will develop in approximately 7-14% of persons who experience diarrhea during a trip to a developing country. People who have been diagnosed with Post Infectious Irritable Bowel Syndrome, most will still have this disorder after five to six years. With having Irritable Bowel Syndrome some of the common complaints were, stool of abnormal form, fecal urgency, common experience of incomple te bowel movement, bloating and functional impairments. In Houston, Texas, a medical organization called The Center for Digestive Diseases at The Kelsey Research Foundation conducted a study concerning individuals with IBS. In this particular study, all the people who helped came from eighteen different clinics. During a two year time frame, all who participated had been diagnosed twice by The Kelsey Seybold -Clinic. The participants were randomly picked for this study. There were only 221 people out of 591 who participated. The subjects were mailed a letter and a form to fill out. When the forms arrived back at the clinic, their information would be reported into their systems.

In the study that was conducted by The Kelsey Seybold-Clinic, it was discovered that women had more issues with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The women were placed into four different types of IBS, PI-IBS (Post Infectious Irritable Bowel Syndrome), IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), UFBD (Unclassified functional Bowel Syndrome), and PI-UFBD (Post Infectious Unclassified Functional Bowel Disorder). With the results, it showed that the different racial profiles were similar in the four different groups. Also, the participants who stated that they have at least one family member who has been diagnosed with IBS was also similar in the four groups. In the National Digestive Disease Information Clearing house, or NDDIC, are listed ways that can help reduce an attack of IBS. None have been proven to cure IBS, but it can help with many of the symptoms that take place, such as bloating, pain in the abdomen, constipation, and diarrhea. Those with IBS can change their eating habits. Many times people will have an attack because certain foods and beverages. This can cause their IBS to have a reaction. By eliminating the foods that are high in fats and drinks that contain alcohol, caffeine, and artificial sweeteners, people could reduce the amount of attacks due to IBS. There are several medications that can help as well. Also, a good exercise program to help with stress has been shown to be successful. NDDIC states stress can stimulate colon spasms. With the study that took place, there were not a lot of differences of intestinal complaints reported when it came to IBS verses PI-IBS. Although, it did show that people who were PI-UFBD complained more that people with UFBD. When it comes to any form of IBS it is really not understood as to how and why it really happens. It is not clear how travel and acute diarrhea contribute to the development or worsening of post infectious forms of IBS. By knowing how the bacteria that affect certain individuals, they can allow for identification risk factors that enable development of strategies for the prevention or alleviation of the disease. Patients with IBS or PI-IBS more often had trouble performing at work or school, missed work or school, were embarrassed or had trouble sleeping because of their intestinal symptoms. As for now, researchers continue to learn and conduct different tests.