Gastroenteritis refers to the inflammation and irritation of the stomach and intestines, which leads to symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, stomach ache, cramping, vomiting and fever. Diarrhea and vomiting, in turn, can cause dehydration and dry mouth. Gastroenteritis can be caused by viral, bacterial, or parasitic infections, but can also be caused by medications, toxins in some foods or heavy metal contamination of food and water. Gastroenteritis can be treated by antibiotics, vaccines (if available) or antiemetics to treat nausea and vomiting. A variety of gastro viruses, gastro bacteria and gastro parasites contribute to gastroenteritis.
Roche offers several options for detecting pathogens causing gastroenteritis. From ready-to-use individual assays to custom panels that include rare or emerging pathogens to expandable assays to suit your throughput, a variety of assay offerings are available.
Also known as stomach flu, viral gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the stomach and intestines caused by a number of viruses. Viral gastroenteritis is highly contagious and can be transmitted through close contact with infected people or through contaminated food or water. Gastroenteritis affects people worldwide with the Norovirus causing 20% of all gastroenteritis cases 1. About 200 million cases of gastroenteritis are among children under 5, leading to an estimated 50,000 child deaths every year, mostly in developing countries. However, norovirus illness is a problem in both low and high income countries. Every year norovirus is estimated to cost $60 billion worldwide due to healthcare costs and lost productivity. 1
In the US, about 20 million people get sick from norovirus each year, most from close contact with infected people or by eating contaminated food.
Norovirus is the leading cause of disease outbreaks from contaminated food in the US.
Infected food workers cause about 70% of reported norovirus outbreaks from contaminated food2
View Roche offering for detecting Norovirus.
Most people will experience a foodborne illness at some point in their lives. According to the World Health Organization an estimated 600 million people fall ill from contaminated food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances, which causes more than 200 diseases – ranging from diarrhea to cancers.3
Antimicrobials are essential to treating bacterial infections but their overuse has been linked to the emergence of treatment resistant strains.4
View Roche offering for detecting gastro bacteria, such as Aeromonas, Yersinia enterocolitica, Campylobacter, Shigella/EIEC, and Salmonella.
Globally, contaminated water is a serious problem that can cause severe pain, disability and even death.5 Contaminated food and water are commonly the source for parasitic infection. People can acquire certain parasites if they accidentally swallow food or water that is contaminated by stool from infected animals.
View Roche offering for detecting gastro parasites, such as Giardia, Dientamoeba fragilis, Cryptosporidium spp, Blastocystis and Entamoeba histolytica.
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