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Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

Bhupinder Anand, MD

In this Article

• Gastroenteritis (stomach flu) facts
• What is gastroenteritis (stomach flu)?
• What causes gastroenteritis?
• Clostridum difficile as a cause of gastroenteritis
• What are gastroenteritis symptoms?
• Is gastroenteritis contagious?
• Is gastroenteritis a serious illness?
• How does food get contaminated with gastroenteritis viruses?
• Who is at risk of gastroenteritis?
• When should the doctor be called for gastroenteritis?
• How is gastroenteritis diagnosed?
• What is the treatment for gastroenteritis?
• What are gastroenteritis complications?
• Can gastroenteritis be prevented?
• What is the prognosis of gastroenteritis?
• Summer Food Safety FAQs
• Patient Comments: Gastroenteritis (Stomach Flu) - Effective Treatments
• Patient Comments: Gastroenteritis (Stomach Flu) - Symptoms
• Patient Comments: Gastroenteritis (Stomach Flu) - Diagnosis
• Find a local Gastroenterologist in your town
• Gastroenteritis Index

Most people with gastroenteritis do not develop any complications, and make a complete recovery. The major complication for some people is dehydration; infants, children, the elderly, and immunodepressed are at higher risk for this complication. In many third world countries, rehydration of infants is difficult at best. Consequently, there are many infant deaths worldwide due to dehydration caused by gastroenteritis. In addition to dehydration, individuals infected with Clostridium difficile may develop pseudomembranous colitis; people aged 65 and older with this bacterial infection have a higher mortality rate from gastroenteritis.

Because there are so many different causes of gastroenteritis, the ability to prevent the disease is related to the cause. Some causes are easier to prevent than others. For example, although viral causes are very contagious, one major viral pathogen, rotavirus, has a vaccine against it that has markedly reduced the incidence of rotavirus in the US pediatric population. Unfortunately, vaccines for other viral causes, although being researched, are not currently available. The only vaccine used against bacterial causes is Vibrio cholerae vaccine, but it is not readily available.

However, there are several general steps people can take to prevent or reduce the chance of getting gastroenteritis from almost any cause. These are as follows:

• Hand washing, especially before eating and after any close contact with an infected person, or items (clothing, bedding, toys)
• Launder daily items worn by infected individuals
• Avoid as much direct contact with infected individuals as possible
• Do not eat undercooked foods, especially meats like hamburger
• Do not eat or drink raw foods or untreated water
• Do not drink any untreated or unpasteurized fluids, especially milk
• Thoroughly wash any produce before eating
• While traveling, avoid all raw foods and ice; drink only from sealed bottled products and use bottled water for tooth brushing

These methods can reduce the chance of contracting gastroenteritis from most of the known causes, but no method offers complete protection.