Table 2.

Characteristics of pathogens isolates from travelers

Characteristics	Number of studies (n = 15)	Percent (%)	References
Pathogens
Single pathogen	4	26.7	[4, 19, 31–38]
Multiple pathogens	10	66.7	[1, 4, 19, 22, 24, 31, 36, 38–40]
Not specified (Single pathogen or multiple pathogens)	1	6.7	[33]
Types
Bacteria	6	40.0	[19, 33–35, 37, 40]
Bacteria, virus	5	33.3	[4, 22, 31, 38, 39]
Bacteria, protozoa, virus	3	20.0	[1, 24, 36]
Protozoa	1	6.7	[32]
Methods for identification of pathogens
Bacteria
Culture/isolation and identification	15	100.0	[1, 4, 19, 22, 24, 31–40]
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing	6	40.0	[22, 31, 35, 37, 39, 40]
Toxin production test	5	33.3	[33, 34, 36, 38, 39]
PCR	3	20.0	[4, 24, 31]
Real-time PCR	4	26.7	[4, 24, 31, 37]
Serotyping by an agglutination assay	1	6.7	[35]
Virus
EIA/ELISA	7	46.7	[4, 22, 33, 36, 38–40]
Real-time reverse transcription  PCR	6	40.0	[1, 4, 22, 24, 36, 38]
Parasite
Microscopic examination	5	33.3	[1, 32, 33, 36, 39]
EIA/ELISA	5	33.3	[1, 4, 19, 24, 40]
Real-time PCR	2	13.3	[4, 24]

Abbreviations: EIA, Enzyme immunoassays; ELISA, Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Polymerase chain reaction; PCR, polymerase chain reaction