ABSTRACT
Enteric infections leading to acute gastroenteritis, together with respiratory tract infections, rank as the most common infectious disease syndromes of humans and animals affecting all age groups. It has been estimated that nearly 5 billion diarrheic episodes occur every year globally, and 15%–30% of severely affected patients succumb to the infection, which is generally higher at the extreme ages of life, particularly in low-income settings of developing countries. The clinical illness caused by enteric pathogens varies but usually involves diarrhea, vomiting, and fever of differing length and severity. Many microbial pathogens are the main causes of infectious gastroenteritis, and amid them, bacterial and parasitic infections have diminished occurrence as a result of progresses in public health practice. However, viral gastroenteritis has not dropped in an analogous manner from these interventions.
