Gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis, or inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, is an illness of fever, diarrhoea and/or vomiting caused by an infectious virus, bacterium or parasite. It usually is of acute onset, normally lasting less than 10 days and self-limiting. Sometimes it is referred to simply as 'gastro'. It is often referred to as the stomach flu even though it is not related to influenza.

References

Victora, C. G., Bryce, J., Fontaine, O., & Monasch, R. 2000, 'Reducing deaths from diarrhoea through oral rehydration therapy', Bulletin of The World Health Organization, vol. 78, no. 10, pp. 1246-1255.

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Wingate D. et al. 2001. 'Guidelines for adults on self-medication for the treatment of acute diarrhoea', Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 773-782.

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