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- What is bacterial gastroenteritis?
- Symptoms of bacterial gastroenteritis
- Causes of bacterial gastroenteritis
- Prevention of bacterial gastroenteritis
- Risk factors for bacterial gastroenteritis
- Complications of bacterial gastroenteritis
- When to see a doctor about bacterial gastroenteritis
- Diagnosis of bacterial gastroenteritis
- Conventional treatment of bacterial gastroenteritis
- Alternative/complementary treatment of bacterial gastroenteritis
- Living with bacterial gastroenteritis
- Caring for someone with bacterial gastroenteritis
What is bacterial gastroenteritis?
Bacterial gastroenteritis is basically an acute bacterial inflammation of the stomach and/or intestines, either by the bacteria itself or through the toxins the bacteria produces. It is also known as "food poisoning" due to the bacteria in the food.
The bacteria that are mostly responsible for bacterial gastroenteritis are:
- Campylobacter jejuni
- Clostridium
- E. coli
- Salmonella
- Shigella
- Staphylococcus
- Yersinia
There can sometimes be outbreaks of various bacterial gastroenteritis infections among many people at a specific gathering, restaurant or party, who have eaten the same food and will all experience the same food poisoning symptoms.
If the food poisoning is due to a restaurant meal and has affected many people, the health authorities will usually investigate this quite thoroughly for the food preparation standards.
Bacterial gastroenteritis can also occur in areas with poor sanitation, in water that is infected with bacteria and this is often the case in developing countries.
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Some facts about bacterial gastroenteritis
- Bacterial gastroenteritis, is also know as "gastro" or a "stomach bug"
- Bacterial gastroenteritis is a common ailment in both adults and children
- About 10-20% of all gastroenteritis cases are due to a bacterial infection (the majority are due to a viral infection)
- Botulism is a very severe type of bacterial gastroenteritis (food poisoning) which can be fatal and is usually caused by using improper bottling or canning methods
- Treating drinking water by using certain (anti-bacterial) chemicals or boiling it kills most of the harmful bacteria that may be in contaminated water
- Good hygiene and sanitation can prevent most cases of bacterial gastroenteritis
- Reheating food too many times can cause bacterial gastroenteritis
- When in doubt about whether a food is safe to eat or not, throw it out
- It is not advisable to eat food prepared in areas of poor sanitation
- Statistics show that about 1 in 1000 people develop bacteria gastroenteritis every year
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