Gastroenteritis News and Research

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Gastroenteritis (also known as gastro, gastric flu, and stomach flu) refers to inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, involving both the stomach and the small intestine and resulting in acute diarrhea. The inflammation is caused most often by infection with certain viruses, less often by bacteria or their toxins, parasites, or adverse reaction to something in the diet or medication.

Gastroenteritis outbreak in South Australia claims another life

An outbreak of gastroenteritis at an aged care facility in Adelaide is of concern as it has claimed the life of a third victim.

17 Jun 2008

Investigational smallpox drug may treat adenovirus infections in humans

Scientists at Saint Louis University have made two key discoveries that could lead to the first-ever human testing of a drug to target the adenovirus, which causes a number of severe upper-respiratory infections and is one of many viruses that causes the common cold.

19 May 2008

Getting sick in Victoria could be a worry

In what will be great concern to Australians living in Victoria, a newly released report has found that Victoria's hospitals have failed to meet key performance indicators.

15 May 2008

Doctors are warning that climate change is already affecting people's health

Doctors in Australia are warning that by 2020 there will be a growing number of illnesses related to climate change.

7 Apr 2008

FDA approves Rotarix

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced the approval of Rotarix, the second oral U.S. licensed vaccine for the prevention of rotavirus, an infection that causes gastroenteritis (vomiting and diarrhea) in infants and children.

4 Apr 2008

Scientists discover how salmonella becomes lethal for AIDS patients

Nearly half of all HIV-positive African adults who become infected with Salmonella die from what otherwise would be a seven-day bout of diarrhea.

25 Mar 2008

Stomach flu vaccine possibility

Every year, millions of people are infected with noroviruses - commonly called "stomach flu" - often resulting in up to 72 hours of vomiting and diarrhea.

14 Feb 2008

New vaccine for malaria under trial

Trials are underway, funded by the Wellcome Trust, for a new vaccine to combat the most deadly form of malaria.

5 Feb 2008

Toronto quarantines passengers from Tel Aviv with flu symptoms

Passengers on an Air Canada flight from Tel Aviv were briefly quarantined on their arrival at Toronto airport because of a health scare.

10 Jan 2008

Satellites used for European health early warning and epidemiology exercise

An earthquake has just shaken the Greek island. Damage is widespread and all conventional, terrestrial communications have been destroyed. The rescue operations have only one means at their disposal that has not been affected by the quake - a satellite which, from its altitude of 36 000 kilometres, can immediately link the locations involved in the catastrophe with the appropriate authorities.

3 Dec 2007

Researchers take on E. coli 0157 and salmonella

Understanding the ecology of two dangerous foodborne pathogens and devising ways to combat them is a big job.

17 Oct 2007

Fighting the spread of food poisoning

A Queensland University of Technology researcher has developed a new technique that can help scientists and clinicians quickly and cheaply diagnose the bacteria which causes the most common bout of food poisoning in Australia.

3 Oct 2007

Novel insecticidal toxins from bacteria

A light-emitting strain of bacteria and a nematode worm, which work together to prey on soil-dwelling insects, use insecticidal toxins to kill their insect hosts.

5 Sep 2007

Irish study to look at how bacteria, Yersinia enterocolitica, enters the food chain

Monitoring of pig carcasses and pig meat in slaughterhouses, butchers' premises and retail outlets will be undertaken in Ireland over the next two years in an attempt to determine how a human disease causing bacteria, Yersinia enterocolitica, enters the food chain, scientists announced today (Tuesday 4 September 2007) at the Society for General Microbiology's 161st Meeting at the University of Edinburgh, UK, which runs from 3-6 September 2007.

4 Sep 2007

Breastfeeding-friendly practices in hospitals improve long-term breastfeeding success

Breast milk and breastfeeding are recognized to be the ideal choices of nutrition and feeding for infants.

29 Aug 2007

Rotarix accepted for review by FDA

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review its Biologics License Application (BLA) for Rotarix, an oral candidate vaccine for infants to prevent rotavirus gastroenteritis.

16 Aug 2007

Improving the quality of primary care could prevent 4 million hospitalizations each year

More than 4 million hospitalizations potentially could be prevented each year by improving the quality of primary care, enhancing patients' access to effective treatments, and getting more Americans to adopt healthy behaviors, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

13 Aug 2007