Which antibiotic class should be avoided in acute diarrhea acquired by a traveler to southeast Asia?
- Quinolone resistance is prevalent among Campylobacter strains found in southeast Asia and increasingly elsewhere, with rising incidence in Russia, India, and some eastern European countries.
- The high rate of resistance to this antibiotic class makes them a poor choice for the empiric treatment of traveler’s diarrhea in these locations.
- Azithromycin is currently the agent of choice for empiric treatment of traveler’s diarrhea in areas where Campylobacter infection is likely to be resistant .
- Campylobacter is also among the more common causes of dysentery, and avoidance of quinolones to treat such clinical presentations is reasonable regardless of geographic location.
