Study to probe travellers' poop
2012-11-02 13:16
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The Hague - Three top Dutch medical schools are asking thousands of travellers to
tropical countries to donate stool samples on return for a study into the rise
in antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.
The combined study,
launched this week by the Academic (AMC), Erasmus and Maastricht medical
centres will focus on 2,000 travellers mainly to Asia and Africa, said AMC
researcher Jarne van Hattem.
"These travellers will
be asked, upon vaccination by a number of travel clinics, if they would like to
participate and send stools to us for a year after their return from the
tropics," Van Hattem told AFP.
He said there has been a
rise in antibiotic resistant intestinal bacterial infections in the Netherlands
and researchers wanted to see whether these bacteria hitch a ride with
travellers who pick them up in exotic destinations.
The team further want to
study whether these bacteria are transmitted to non-travelling relatives upon
return home to the Netherlands, known for its strict control of the use of
antibiotics for fear of building up resistance.
All volunteers will receive
a home DIY-kit with swabs and a special plastic "safe bag" in which a
swab sample will be sealed and placed in an envelope with a return address to
Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam.
Participants are asked to
send three to six samples over the course of a year, with researchers hoping to
publish their findings about 30 months afterwards.
Van Hattem said he believed
it was the largest study of its kind to date, with smaller projects previously
being undertaken in Sweden and Australia.
Participants won't go away
empty handed though.
"Those who send up
their poop will be rewarded with a special Fokke & Sukke cartoon strip
specially drawn for this study," the AMC said in a press release.
Fokke & Sukke are two
crudely drawn but hugely popular Dutch cartoon characters known for their
politically incorrect views and often scatological sense of humour.
"Most people find
anything to do with poop quite disgusting. So with this cartoon we hope to put
a bit of humour back into the study," Van Hattem said.
- Check out the Health24 Stool Tool
