Gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis

It is estimated that three to five billion cases of gastroenteritis occur globally on an annual basis, primarily affecting children and those in the developing world. It resulted in about 1.3 million deaths in children less than five as of 2008, with most of these occurring in the world's poorest nations. More than 450,000 of these fatalities are due to rotavirus in children under 5 years of age. Cholera causes about three to five million cases of disease and kills approximately 100,000 people yearly. In the developing world children less than two years of age frequently get six or more infections a year that result in clinically significant gastroenteritis. It is less common in adults, partly due to the development of acquired immunity.

In 1980, gastroenteritis from all causes caused 4.6 million deaths in children, with the majority occurring in the developing world. Death rates were reduced significantly (to approximately 1.5 million deaths annually) by the year 2000, largely due to the introduction and widespread use of oral rehydration therapy. In the US, infections causing gastroenteritis are the second most common infection (after the common cold), and they result in between 200 and 375 million cases of acute diarrhea and approximately ten thousand deaths annually, with 150 to 300 of these deaths in children less than five years of age.

Read more about Gastroenteritis:  History, Society and Culture, Research, In Other Animals