A 23-year-old female presents with crampy abdominal pain and loose stools three times per day for the past two weeks. She recently returned from a backpacking trip in Asia. The stools are watery without blood or mucus. What could be the potential causes?
Given her recent travel history, this patient's symptoms could be due to a condition commonly known as traveler's diarrhea, which is most commonly caused by bacteria such as E. coli, but can also be caused by viruses or parasites. Next steps would include stool studies to identify the potential pathogen and appropriate antimicrobial treatment based on the identified organism.