title: Acute gastroenteritis in northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland: a telephone survey.
abstract: Most people with acute gastroenteritis do not seek medical care and are therefore not captured by routine surveillance. For this reason, population-based studies are needed to measure the burden of illness. A study of acute gastroenteritis in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland surveyed 9,903 people by telephone over the 12-month period from December 2000 to November 2001. The rate of acute gastroenteritis was 0.60 episodes per person per year. A general practitioner was consulted by 29.2% of those reporting illness, and 2.0% submitted a stool sample. The use of antibiotics was reported by 7.4% of ill respondents and 14.8% took anti-diarrhoeals. Taking days off work due to illness, was reported by 17.4% of respondents. Acute gastroenteritis causes a large amount of illness in the community. There are established and effective measures to prevent this condition and the challenge is to find new ways of promoting these precautions.
authors.affiliation: Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland. escallan@cdc.gov
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Scallan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Crowley
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Daly
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Devine
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Igoe
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Quigley
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Smyth
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009660:Northern Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011159:Population Surveillance; D013689:Telephone