TRAVELLER'S DIARRHEA AND CIPROFLOXACIN

One dose of ciprofloxacin can significantly shorten the duration of traveller's diarrhea, according to a study presented at the British Society of Gastroenterology spring meeting. Michael Farthing of St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, UK, said that a 500mg dose of ciprofloxacin (Bayer's Cipro) had proved to be an effective limiter of diarrheal duration and severity in a placebo-controlled study of 83 soldiers in Belize.

Prof Farthing said that the last liquid stool was recorded after an average 50.4 hours for those on placebo and 20.9 hours for those on the antibiotic, and that the number of liquid stools over the affected period was approximately halved. He said this regimen would probably not be necessary for all travellers, but would be particularly useful for those who could be vulnerable to infection or who could not afford the illness, eg business people.