Gastroenteritis (Print Version)

Also called: Also called: Stomach flu

Have you ever had the "stomach flu?" What you probably had was gastroenteritis - not a type of flu at all. Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the lining of the intestines caused by a virus, bacteria or parasites. Viral gastroenteritis is the second most common illness in the U.S. It spreads through contaminated food or water, and contact with an infected person. The best prevention is frequent hand washing.

Symptoms of gastroenteritis include diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, headache, fever and chills. Most people recover with no treatment.

The most common problem with gastroenteritis is dehydration. This happens if you do not drink enough fluids to replace what you lose through vomiting and diarrhea. Dehydration is most common in babies, young children, the elderly and people with weak immune systems.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Start Here

Viral Gastroenteritis(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/viralgastroenteritis/
Viral Gastroenteritis(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/faq.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/faq-sp.htm

Overviews

Viral Gastroenteritis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/viral-gastroenteritis/DS00085/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print

Diagnosis/Symptoms

Stool Culture(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/stool_culture/test.html
Stool Tests(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/labtest8.html

Treatment

Gastroenteritis: First Aid(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/first-aid-gastroenteritis/FA00030/METHOD=print

Prevention/Screening

Hand Washing: An Easy Way to Prevent Infection(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/hand-washing/HQ00407/METHOD=print

Disease Management

JAMA Patient Page: Preventing Dehydration from Diarrhea(American Medical Association) - Links to PDF - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/285/3/362.pdf

Specific Conditions

Foodborne Illness(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/foodborneinfections_g.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/foodborneinfections_g_sp.htm
Norovirus Infection(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/norovirus/DS00942/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
Norovirus Infection(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/norovirus/
Norovirus: Questions & Answers(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus-qa.htm

Related Issues

Facts about Noroviruses on Cruise Ships(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/pub/Norovirus/Norovirus.htm
Norovirus: Food Handlers(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus-foodhandlers.htm

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Norovirus(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Norovirus%22
ClinicalTrials.gov: Gastroenteritis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Gastroenteritis%22

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Molecular characterization of VP6-encoding gene of group A human rotavirus... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18814260&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Emergence of the GII4/2006b variant and recombinant noroviruses in China. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18814250&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: An outbreak of group A rotavirus G1P[8] in an elementary... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18806362&tool=MedlinePlus
Gastroenteritis -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=gastroenteritis[majr:noexp]+AND+(child[mh]+OR+infant[mh]+OR+adolescent[mh])+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
Gastroenteritis in adults -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=gastroenteritis[majr:noexp]+AND+adult[mh]+AND+english[la]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Organizations

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://www.niddk.nih.gov/

Children

Adenovirus(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/lung/adenovirus.html
Infectious Diarrhea(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/digestive/diarrhea.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/infecciones/diarrhea_esp.html
Vomiting(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/emergencies/vomit.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/seguridad/vomit_esp.html
“Stomach Flu”(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/sick/stomach_flu.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/kid/en_espanol/comunes/stomach_flu_esp.html

Teenagers

Dehydration(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/safety/first_aid/dehydration.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/seguridad/dehydration_esp.html
Gastrointestinal Infections and Diarrhea(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/infections/intestinal/diarrhea.html

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Diarrhea - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/diarrhea.html
Food Contamination and Poisoning - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/foodcontaminationandpoisoning.html
Nausea and Vomiting - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/nauseaandvomiting.html
Rotavirus Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/rotavirusinfections.html
Traveler's Health - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/travelershealth.html
Digestive System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/digestivesystem.html
Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infections.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Gastroenteritis is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://www.niddk.nih.gov/