{"id":4362,"date":"2019-04-09T14:00:55","date_gmt":"2019-04-09T14:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/?post_type=project&p=4362"},"modified":"2019-04-09T18:29:58","modified_gmt":"2019-04-09T18:29:58","slug":"what-happens-in-the-gut-when-we-travel","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/what-happens-in-the-gut-when-we-travel\/","title":{"rendered":"What happens in the gut when we travel?"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”3.21″][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=”What happens in the gut when we travel?” subhead=”New traveller’s diarrhea treatments may be on the horizon as researchers dig into the secrets of the gut microbiome” header_fullscreen=”on” content_orientation=”bottom” admin_label=”Fullwidth Header” _builder_version=”3.21″ background_image=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Resize-for-web.jpg.jpeg” title_font_size=”50px” title_text_shadow_style=”preset1″ subhead_text_shadow_style=”preset1″ title_font=”||||||||” subhead_font=”||||||||” subhead_font_size=”24px”]<\/p>\n

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By Jordana Colomby and Matt Gergyek<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Looking back on it now, Erin Hynes laughs about her and her partner\u2019s bouts of traveller\u2019s<\/g> diarrhea while they were on their nine-month trip through Asia and Europe. But at the time, there was nothing funny about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hynes said she remembers being on a bus in Laos, a country in Southeast Asia, at the beginning of their trip. En route to Kuang Si, a famous waterfall just outside of Luang Prabang, the bus was weaving along a bumpy road, so the two were a bit queasy to<\/g> begin with. But Hynes\u2019s partner turned to her with a familiar look in his eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel very good,\u201d he said, and Hynes said she instantly knew what was about to happen.<\/span><\/p>\n

For four weeks, Hynes and her partner took turns battling\u00a0traveller\u2019s<\/g> diarrhea<\/span>, which is common for many people with wanderlust: Around 60 per cent<\/g> of travellers<\/g> going from industrialized to developing countries get some form of\u00a0traveller\u2019s<\/g> diarrhea<\/span>, according to a<\/span> 2015 study published in the journal <\/span>Gut Microbes<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s not one specific cause of\u00a0traveller\u2019s<\/g> diarrhea<\/span>; it\u2019s an umbrella term for many different illnesses caused by a wide range of bacteria, viruses and<\/g> parasites that result in frequent, loose, or watery stool, along with stomach pains, vomiting, and fevers. Although\u00a0traveller\u2019s<\/g> diarrhea<\/span> might seem like nothing more than a few trips to the toilet, the long term impacts can be detrimental to one\u2019s gut health. Researchers are taking advantage of the burgeoning field of microbiome research to search for new ways to prevent and treat\u00a0traveller\u2019s<\/g> diarrhea<\/span>\u00a0\u2014 giving hope to travellers<\/g> prone to miserable guts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The inner workings of the gut microbiome \u2014 the collection of bacteria living in your intestines \u2014 are extremely complex. These resident microorganisms help humans digest food and fight pathogens. Bacteria hitchhiking on food and drink constantly enter and leave the gut microbiome. T<\/span>ravelling<\/g> can disrupt a person’s generally stable microbiome, which can spell trouble on the toilet. When pathogens that commonly cause\u00a0<\/span>traveller\u2019s<\/g> diarrhea, such as <\/span>enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli <\/i>(ETEC) or bacteria of the Campylobacter genus, get into the gut, a case of diarrhea could strike.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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