Risk factors for symptoms of infection and microbial carriage among French medical students abroad

Thi Loi Dao (1, 2, 3) , Naomie Canard (1, 2) , van Thuan Hoang (1, 2, 3) , Tran Duc Anh Ly (1, 2) , Tassadit Drali (1, 2) , Laetitia Ninove (2, 4) , Florence Fenollar (1, 2) , Didier Raoult (5, 1) , Philippe Parola (1, 2) , Pierre Marty (6, 7) , Philippe Gautret (1, 2)

1 VITROME - Vecteurs - Infections tropicales et méditerranéennes
2 IHU Marseille - Institut Hospitalier Universitaire Méditerranée Infection
3 Thai Binh University of Medecine and Pharmacy
4 UVE - Unité des Virus Emergents
5 MEPHI - Microbes évolution phylogénie et infections
6 C3M - Centre méditerranéen de médecine moléculaire
7 Hôpital l'Archet

Objectives: To investigate symptoms of infections and their risk factors among French medical students undertaking an internship abroad. Methods: Clinical follow up, and qPCR-based respiratory, gastrointestinal, and vaginal pathogen carriages were prospectively assessed pre-travel and post-travel, in a cohort of medical students departing from Marseille, France. Results: 293 students were included. 63.5%, 35.8%, and 3.6% of students reported gastrointestinal, respiratory, and vaginal symptoms, respectively. The acquisition rate of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli and Enteropathogenic E. coli was 40.9% and 18.6%, respectively. A significant increase was observed for rhinovirus and Streptococcus pneumoniae by comparing the prevalence of pathogens in pre-travel and post-travel samples. Gardnerella vaginalis and Atopobium vaginae acquisition rates were 12.9% and 13.9%, respectively. Being female, primarily traveling to Vietnam, and living in basic accommodation conditions were independent risk factors for reporting respiratory symptoms. Students reporting respiratory symptoms were three times more likely to acquire S. pneumoniae. Traveling primarily to north India and Senegal were independent risk factors for diarrhea. Conclusion: This study makes it possible to identify the leading infectious diseases linked to travel in a group of French medical students undertaking an internship abroad and the risk factors on which to base targeting students for reinforced pre-travel advice.

Mots clés: E. coli; Medical students; Respiratory symptoms; Risk factor; Streptococcus pneumonia; Travelers’ diarrhea

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Thi Loi Dao, Naomie Canard, van Thuan Hoang, Tran Duc Anh Ly, Tassadit Drali, et al.. Risk factors for symptoms of infection and microbial carriage among French medical students abroad. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2020, 100, pp.104-111. ⟨10.1016/j.ijid.2020.08.075⟩. ⟨hal-03149253⟩