Top 5 diarrhoea destinations

At last, a Christmas number one - or should that be number two - that matters. The top five diarrhoea destinations have been named by the the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

The countries where travellers from England, Wales and Northern Ireland are most likely to acquire gastrointestinal infection following their visit are Egypt, India, Thailand, Pakistan, and Morocco.

Half of the 24,322 laboratory confirmed cases reported in those who had recently travelled abroad between 2004 and 2008 were caused by Salmonella. Other bacteria such as Campylobacter and Shigella and organisms such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium were also reported.

Avoid tap water

Dr Jane Jones, a travel health expert with the HPA said: 'We know from studies that travellers may not follow health advice consistently while abroad. Personal hygiene and precautionary measures against food and water borne illness are important at all times anywhere, but particularly when travelling to countries with less robust sanitary infrastructure than the UK. Taking sensible precautions such as avoiding tap water and ensuring food is properly cooked will help to keep a holiday at any time of the year both enjoyable and healthy.'

82 travellers to Egypt, which tops the list, in every 100,000 get a serious gastrointestinal illness. This is double the rate in Morocco which is fifth. 22 visitors in 100,000 to Turkey have the problem - still well above the highest rate in Europe (7 per 100,000 in Greece).

The HPA divide the world into three different risk zones for risk of travellers diarrhoea:

• Low risk: western Europe, USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
• Medium risk: southern Europe, Israel, South Africa, some Caribbean islands and the Pacific.
• High risk: Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and most parts of Asia.