Gastroenteritis Case Study

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Risk Factors for Contracting Gastroenteritis at Savanna Primary School, Sanyati District, 2014 1. Introduction Gastroenteritis is the inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, usually the stomach and small intestines. It is associated with diarrhea, vomiting and, abdominal pain. Diarrhea is the most common symptom of gastroenteritis. According to World Health Organization (WHO) diarrhea is the passage of three or more loose stools per day, or more than is normal for the individual1. The causes of epidemic gastroenteritis are mainly food-borne enterobacterial infections. Water borne infections may also cause gastroenteritis in mass settings. Globally, diarrhea is one of the leading causes of death accounting for 15% of childhood mortality…show more content…
The estimated number of cases is 94 million annually. Of these cases 80 million cases are related to food. At least 155 000 deaths are recorded annually1. . Escherichia Coli (E. Coli) has been implicated in major outbreaks where aquatic ecosystems have been contaminated by sewage2. Enterotoxigenic E.Coli has also been implicated as the causative organism in at least 11 outbreaks in February 2010 in Denmark 3. Gastroenteritis has been associated with both viral and bacteriological microorganisms. Cryptosporidium, Salmonella spp. and Giardia spp. have also been implicated in major outbreaks of gastroenteritis. Heavy metals and pesticides such as arsenic, cadmium or lead and mercury are also associated with gastroenteritis. Rotavirus is a major cause of viral gastroenteritis worldwide. Several waterborne outbreaks of rotavirus have been documented. Analysis indicates that significant risks of disease could result from drinking, and, recreational waters in which rotavirus has been detected4. Viruses are also associated with both seasonal acute and occasional gastroenteritis outbreaks associated with contaminated food or…show more content…
The overall AR was 75%. Evidence suggested a common source outbreak and a contaminated water supply as the cause of the outbreak7. The most common mode of transmission of gastroenteritis has been identified as person to person and water borne8. Coulibaly et al (2008), in a study of risk factors for contracting cholera in Harare Zimbabwe, found out that being in contact with a cholera patient at home (OR-12.02, 95% CI-5.46-26.44) was a significant risk factor for contracting the illness9. In a retrospective cohort study of two parallel gastroenteritis outbreaks in school settings in Greece, Mellou et al (2012) carried out multivariate analysis where the consumption of contaminated water was a significant independent risk factor of gastroenteritis (RR=2.34, C.I =1.55-3.53), a finding supported by the shape of the epidemic curve which pointed to a common point source outbreak with secondary

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