gastroenteritis

Also known as infectious diarrhea, gastro, stomach virus, stomach bug, gastric flu, stomach flu, cholera morbus, 24-hour flu

Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea, is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of energy, and dehydration may also occur. This typically lasts less than two weeks. Although it is not related to influenza, in Canada and the United States it is often referred to as "stomach flu".

AI overview

Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the stomach and intestines that causes symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, and may also involve fever, fatigue, and dehydration. It matters because it's a common condition that can make people seriously uncomfortable, though it typically resolves within two weeks.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Medical condition (new).name: Gastroenteritis
Medical condition (new).image: Gastroenteritis viruses.jpg
Medical condition (new).caption: Gastroenteritis viruses: A = rotavirus, B = adenovirus, C = norovirus and D = astrovirus. The virus particles are shown at the same magnification to allow size comparison.
Medical condition (new).field: Infectious disease, gastroenterology
Medical condition (new).synonyms: Gastro, stomach bug, stomach virus, stomach flu, gastric flu, gastrointestinitis, flu bug
Medical condition (new).symptoms: Diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever
Medical condition (new).complications: Dehydration
Medical condition (new).causes: Viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi
Medical condition (new).diagnosis: Based on symptoms, occasionally stool culture
Medical condition (new).differential: Inflammatory bowel disease, malabsorption syndrome, lactose intolerance
Medical condition (new).prevention: Hand washing, drinking clean water, proper disposal of human waste, breastfeeding
Medical condition (new).treatment: Oral rehydration solution (combination of water, salts, and sugar), intravenous fluids
Medical condition (new).frequency: 2.4 billion (2015)
Medical condition (new).deaths: 1.3 million (2015)

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

286,411 papers

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Image: Gastroenteritis viruses.jpg

Show 4 more facts

NCI Thesaurus ID: C34632
Commons category: Gastroenteritis
exact match: purl.obolibrary.org/obo/SYMP_0019159
ICD-9-CM: 558.9

Sources (6)

via Wikidata · CC0

~23 min read

Article

28 sections

Contents

Signs and symptoms
Cause
Viral
Bacterial
Parasitic
Transmission
Non-infectious
Pathophysiology
Diagnosis
Dehydration
Differential diagnosis
Prevention
Water, sanitation, hygiene
Vaccination
Management
Rehydration
Dietary
Antiemetics
Antibiotics
Antimotility agents
Epidemiology
Society and culture
Terminology
Animals
See also
References
Notes
External links

Gastroenteritis is usually caused by viruses; however, gut bacteria, parasites, and fungi can also cause gastroenteritis. In children, rotavirus is the most common cause of severe disease. In adults, norovirus and Campylobacter are common causes. Eating improperly prepared food, drinking contaminated water or close contact with a person who is infected can spread the disease. Treatment is generally the same with or without a definitive diagnosis, so testing to confirm is usually not needed.