Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the stomach and intestinal tract that primarily affects the small bowel. The major clinical manifestations are diarrhea of varying degrees and abdominal pain and cramping. Associated clinical manifestations are nauseas, vomiting, fever, anorexia, distention, tenesmus (straining on defecation) and borborygmi (hyperactive bowel sounds) (Black, Joyce M., Hawks Jane Hokanson., (2009). Medical-Surgical Nursing: A clinical Management for Positive Outcomes (8th ed.), pp. 679). Gastroenteritis occurs throughout the world, often in epidemic outbreaks. Contaminated food and water are major causes of these diseases and cause thousands of deaths yearly. The incidence of infections caused by food-borne diseases is rising. These diseases cost society billions of dollars each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 33,000,000 cases of food-borne diseases occur annually in the United States, about 1 of every 10 Americans; about 9000 die. Salmonella and related strains cause an estimated 4 million cases of food-borne illnesses each year, and Campylobacter causes an estimated 2 million illnesses each year. Another bacterium, Escherichia coli 0157:H7 causes an estimated 30,000 infections and 250 deaths annually. In July 22, 2004, the Department of Health (DOH), Philippines declared an epidemic of a water/food-borne disease called acute gastroenteritis in 45 towns in Central Pangasinan. Acute gastroenteritis is a human enteric (intestinal) disease primarily caused by ingestion of spoiled or bacterial contaminated water or food.
According to the DOH Secretary, Dr. Manuel Dayrit, a total of 2,778 cases of the said intestinal infection were recorded in just 45 days (from May 31 to July16, 2004). From the studies on the medical diagnoses of 81 cases, Dayrit concluded that infectious cholera disease was the main cause of the epidemic (www.doh.gov.ph).
Locally, here in Tagum City, at Davao
Bibliography: A. BOOKS Black, Joyce M., Hawks, Jane Hokanson. Medical – Surgical Nusing: Clinical Management for Positive Outcomes. 8th Ed. Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd. 2009. Doenges, Marilynn E., Moorhouse, Mary Frances, and Murr, Alice C. Nurse’s Pocket Guide: Diagnoses, Prioritized Interventions, and Rationales. 11th Ed. F.A. Davis Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 2008. Dillon, Patricia M. Nursing Health Assessment: A Critical Thinking, Case Studies Approach. 2nd Ed. F.A. Davis Company, Philadelphia. 2007. Pillitteri, Adele. Maternal & Child Health Nursing: Care of the Childbearing & Childrearing Family. 5th Ed. Vol. 2. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 2007. B. INTERNET www.doh.gov.ph C. OTHERS Deglin, Judith Hopfer, Vallerand, April Hazard. Davis’s Drug Guide for Nurses. 11th Ed. F. A. Davis Company. 2009.