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The word diarrhea is from the Ancient Greek διάρροια from διά dia "through" and ῥέω rheo "flow". Diarrhea is the spelling in American English, whereas diarrhoea is the spelling in British English. Slang terms for the condition include "the runs", "the squirts" (or "squits" in Britain [13]) and "the trots". [14] [15]
Viruses cause about 70% of episodes of infectious diarrhea in the pediatric age group. [13] Rotavirus is a less common cause in adults due to acquired immunity. [27] Norovirus is the cause in about 18% of all cases. [28] Generally speaking, viral gastroenteritis accounts for 21–40% of the cases of infectious diarrhea in developed countries. [29]
Main causes of fecal–oral disease transmission include lack of adequate sanitation (leading to open defecation), and poor hygiene practices. If soil or water bodies are polluted with fecal material, humans can be infected with waterborne diseases or soil-transmitted diseases. Fecal contamination of food is another form of fecal-oral transmission.
Shigella results in about 165 million cases of diarrhea and 1.1 million deaths a year with nearly all cases in the developing world. [5] In areas with poor sanitation nearly half of cases of diarrhea are due to Entamoeba histolytica. [6] Entamoeba histolytica affects millions of people and results in more than 55,000 deaths a year. [12]
The diagnostic criteria are, one or more of the following factors present for the last three months: abnormal functioning of normally innervated and structurally intact muscles, minor abnormalities of sphincter structure/innervation (nerve supply), normal or disordered bowel habits, (i.e., fecal retention or diarrhea), and psychological causes.
Stool osmotic gap is a measurement of the difference in solute types between serum and feces, used to distinguish among different causes of diarrhea. Feces is normally in osmotic equilibrium with blood serum, which the human body maintains between 290–300 mOsm/kg. [ 1 ]
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Sapovirus is a genetically diverse genus of single-stranded positive-sense RNA, non-enveloped viruses within the family Caliciviridae. [1] [2] Together with norovirus, sapoviruses are the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis (commonly called the "stomach flu" although it is not related to influenza) in humans and animals.