Gastro can be a real pain in the guts when you’re in the comfort of your own home, but it’s even more of a sh#t storm when you’re on the road in unfamiliar bathroom territory.
Although it’s not the deadliest of infections, it’s certainly one of the messiest, which some 1,457 Aussies picked up while travelling last year.
According to Cover-More Travel Insurance, Australians spent nearly $2 million in emergency expenses related to gastroenteritis in 2016, with the majority of cases reported in Australia’s favourite travel destination… Indonesia.
Nearly 875 gastro claims were made from the Southeast Asian destination last year, a relatively low figure when you consider that nearly 1.3 million Aussies travelled to the country during the 12 months.
The second highest number of gastro claims among Aussies came from Thailand (722), followed by the United States.
So instead of enjoying all that delicious fried chicken in the southern states, 325 Aussies wound up spending their time in the US like…
Although Indonesia may be a top spot for Aussies to contract gastroenteritis, it’s actually not the most likely place for travellers to catch the bug.
Cover-More’s worldwide figures show there’s a two percent chance of getting gastro in Peru, followed by Cambodia where there’s a 0.81 percent chance.
Thailand was the third most likely place to get the infection (0.52 percent), while Spain was the fourth (0.41 percent) and India the fifth (0.37 percent).
The travel insurance company’s Chief Medical Officer said travellers can avoid the debilitating illness by following six easy steps: wash your hands after touching money; don’t drink tap water; check the bottle cap of your water when purchasing it; order drinks without ice; avoid salads; and use hand sanitiser often.