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.

Rotavirus vaccine given the green light

The Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. has recommended a new vaccine for routine use against rotavirus infection.

22 Feb 2006

Data establishes safety profile of new GlaxoSmithKline rotavirus vaccine candidate

Data from one of the largest infant vaccine trials ever conducted, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), showed GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) rotavirus vaccine candidate as effective against rotavirus disease (rotavirus gastroenteritis) in the first year of life. Rotavirus is the leading recognized cause of diarrhea-related illness and death among infants and young children.

6 Jan 2006

Rotateq eliminates the most severe cases of rotavirus

In a study of more than 68,000 infants published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the investigational vaccine Rotateq demonstrated that it can safely prevent 98 percent of severe cases of viral diarrhea and vomiting that account for 2 million hospital visits and 500,000 pediatric deaths each year worldwide.

6 Jan 2006

Daily dose of probiotics keeps workers healthy

Workers who take probiotics daily are less likely to be off work with common illnesses, such as colds and gastroenteritis, than workers who don't.

7 Nov 2005

Gatorade appears effective in correcting dehydration and improving bowel symptoms

A double-blind trial of oral rehydration solutions for children with diarrhea and vomiting related to acute viral gastroenteritis found that Gatorade is as effective as Pedialyte in correcting dehydration and improving bowel symptoms.

1 Nov 2005

How hurricanes impact public health long term

A Johns Hopkins emergency physician who spent the past five weeks working on public health issues in the Gulf Coast region following hurricane Katrina warns that the disaster's potential for wreaking havoc and damage to people's health may continue for months after the hurricane has passed.

19 Oct 2005

Japanese encephalitis in Indian province - update

Health officials say nine more people have now died from Japanese encephalitis in India's Uttar Pradesh state, taking the death toll from the mosquito-borne disease to 99.

22 Aug 2005

India's encephalitis death toll reaches 110 and most are children

The deaths of another twenty people in an encephalitis outbreak in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh has taken the toll to 110 as of Saturday.

21 Aug 2005

Found! - mutant viruses that laid NSW low with gastro

New mutant viruses responsible for gastroenteritis outbreaks in New South Wales in recent times have been identified by research published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal of the US Centers for Disease Control.

27 Jun 2005

Drinking cranberry juice may fight that tummy bug

A new study suggests that cranberry juice, a well documented remedy to help prevent urinary tract infections, may also work against gastrointestinal viruses.

8 Jun 2005

Genetically engineered virus has shown promise as a treatment for patients with colorectal cancer

A single injection of a genetically engineered virus has shown promise as a treatment for patients with colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver, according to preliminary results reported at the 2nd ESMO Scientific & Educational Conference (ESEC) in Budapest, Hungary.

6 Jun 2005

Washing hands with soap and water best protection against disease-causing viruses

The largest, most comprehensive study ever done comparing the effectiveness of hand hygiene products shows that nothing works better in getting rid of disease-causing viruses than simply washing one's hands with good old-fashioned soap and water.

14 Mar 2005

Norovirus found to cause traveler's diarrhea

A majority of traveler’s diarrhea cases among U.S. travelers to Mexico and Guatemala were attributed to Norovirus, a common cause of nonbacterial gastroenteritis outbreaks usually associated with developed countries, according to a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions.

8 Mar 2005

Study supports giving dehydrated children fluids by mouth, oral rehydration therapy

Oral rehydration therapy, or giving fluids by mouth, is equally effective as giving intravenous fluids to young children dehydrated by common stomach and intestinal inflammations, according to a new study by emergency medicine physicians.

7 Feb 2005

New recommendations which will help pre-empt drinking water contamination

Ensuring drinking water is safe is a challenge in every part of the world, from water piped into people's homes, to rural wells and water provided to refugee camps in an emergency.

22 Sep 2004

High-resolution images reveal the molecular rearrangements that rotavirus uses to break into cells

High-resolution images constructed by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School reveal the molecular rearrangements that rotavirus – the most common cause of severe, dehydrating diarrhea and vomiting in children worldwide – uses to break into cells.

25 Aug 2004

As the saying goes “breast milk is best”

As the saying goes “breast milk is best,” and more than 85 percent of new moms who give birth at the University of Michigan Health System agree and continue to breastfeed their new bundle of joy, on average, for the first six months.

3 Aug 2004

Results from study of Rituxan in rheumatoid arthritis show promise

Genentech, Inc., Biogen Idec and Roche have announced that the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a Phase IIa study showing that two doses of Rituxan® (Rituximab), administered two weeks apart, improved symptoms in patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for up to 48 weeks when combined with methotrexate (MTX), compared to MTX alone.

16 Jun 2004

New license agreement for rotavirus diarrhea vaccine

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced today a new license agreement aimed at helping to prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths annually from rotavirus diarrhea in children living in developing countries.

4 May 2004