Antibacterial action of combinations of colistin and the sulphonamides.

Laboratory, Colindale, London) The traveller newly arrived at his destination, particularly if a warm climate, is commonly affected by acute diarrhoea within 14 days, a condition usually referred to as 'traveller's diarrhoea'. In 1965 a bacteriological study was made on 540 men belonging to an Army unit which moved by air from the United Kingdom to Aden. Cases of diarrhoea commenced about four days after arrival; the incidence reached a peak at 10 days and then dropped off to 14 days. In the subsequent weeks cases of diarrhoea continued to occur but no peak incidence was found. Thirty-eight soldiers suffered an attack of diarrhoea during their first 14 days after arrival. Faecal specimens were investigated from 35 of these subjects. A new serotype of Escherichia coli 0148K?H28 was isolated in the acute phase from 19 subjects (54'3 .). Two cases (5 7 %) suffered from gastroenteritis due to a Salmonella and in the remaining 14 (40 %) of cases E. coli of various 0 groups were found which could not be related to diarrhoea. The peak of the isolations of E. coli 0148K?H28 corresponded with the peak incidence of the cases of diarrhoea. This serotype was not isolated from a healthy subject in Aden nor has it been found in the United Kingdom, except in a case of laboratory infection associated with this work. This work suggests that in Aden in 1965 this specific serotype of E. coli caused the diarrhoea in about 54% of the cases of traveller's diarrhoea.