Acute bacterial gastroenteritis

Patients with acute gastroenteritis commonly present to emergency departments and primary care facilities worldwide. Etiological agents can be viral, bacterial, or protozoan; and bacterial agents can be either enteropathogenic, toxigenic, or both.

Acute bacterial gastroenteritis is a disease state that occurs when food or water that is contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms or their toxins is consumed.

Bacterial gastroenteritis can causes inflammation in the stomach and intestines. Symptoms of bacterial gastroenteritis include nausea, vomiting, fever, diarrhea, belly cramping, and pain. Most cases of acute gastroenteritis are self-limiting, but some patients with more serious infection resulting from invasive bacterial and parasitic organisms may present with life-threatening dehydration and shock.

Among these severe bacterial causes, nontyphoidal Salmonella and Campylobacter spp are the most common causes in the United States.
Acute bacterial gastroenteritis