What is infectious gastroenteritis?

Infectious gastroenteritis includes viral gastroenteritis caused by viruses and bacterial gastroenteritis caused by bacteria (enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli infection, etc.). Here is an overview of viral gastroenteritis.

Causes of viral gastroenteritis include "norovirus", "rotavirus", "sapovirus", and "intestinal adenovirus".

In particular, gastroenteritis caused by "rotavirus" and "intestinal adenovirus" is often seen in infants.

It occurs year-round, but is especially prevalent in winter.

Norovirus is seen from autumn to winter, and rotavirus is seen from winter to spring.

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Norovirus is the most common virus.

Norovirus is the leading cause of infectious gastroenteritis in people of all ages.

The feces and vomit of patients contain a large amount of virus, from 1 million to 1 billion per 100 grams. It is a highly contagious virus that causes infectious gastroenteritis with a small amount of 100 or less viruses.

symptoms

About 24 to 72 hours after infection (incubation period), abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and fever appear. White stool is seen as a specific symptom of rotavirus.

It usually resolves within 3 days, or within 5-6 days at most. In infants and the elderly, dehydration may occur secondary to vomiting and diarrhea.

In addition, even after recovery of symptoms, the virus may be excreted from the stool for about a week, or for a month or more if it is long.

Infection route

・Human to human [contact infection, droplet infection]

・Human → Cookware/Food → Human [Oral infection (food poisoning), contact infection]

・Food → Human [Oral infection (food poisoning)]

preventive measures

• Washing hands : In order to prevent oral infections (food poisoning) and contact infections, make it a habit to wash your hands frequently before eating and cooking, after going to the toilet, and after going out. There are three points in hand washing.
  1. Wash away the virus: Use soap and scrub thoroughly. (Approximate 30 seconds)
  2. Prevent the spread of the virus: do not share towels.
  3. Prevent recontamination from faucets that have been contaminated with unwashed hands: Wash faucets with hands or use paper towels to close them.

• Treatment of faeces and vomit : It is important to use an appropriate method and promptly to prevent the infection of the person handling the treatment and the spread of the infection within the facility.

• Disinfection : Sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) is effective against viruses that cause infectious gastroenteritis. Hot water disinfection is also effective against norovirus.

Use applications	Required concentration	Dilution method
Handrails, doorknobs, water faucets, etc. A place where many hands touch	0.02%	Add 10ml of stock solution to 3L of water. (Two plastic bottle caps)
Places contaminated with faeces or vomit	0.1%	Add 30ml of stock solution to 3L of water. (6 plastic bottle caps)

Use applications	Required temperature/time
Disinfection of dirty linen Disinfection of utensils	1 minute or more at 85 degrees or more

If symptoms occur

While diarrhea and vomiting continue, please pay attention to dehydration and hydrate.

In the case of the elderly and children, if symptoms such as tiredness, dry lips, and dark urine appear, see a doctor immediately . Elderly people in particular may develop pneumonia due to aspiration (vomit entering the trachea), so pay attention to changes in physical condition.

Request at the time of infectious gastroenteritis mass outbreak

Schools, nursery schools, social welfare facilities, etc.

Please report if any of the following conditions apply.

• When two or more deaths or serious cases occur in one week due to or suspected to be due to the same infectious disease or food poisoning.
• When 10 or more people with the same infectious disease or food poisoning or those who are suspected of having them occur, or when more than half of all users occur
• Even if the above does not apply, if an outbreak of an infectious disease that exceeds the normal outbreak trend is suspected, and the facility director deems it necessary to report.

In any case, please contact the public health center (03-3919-3102). In the event of a mass outbreak, please download and complete the following Infectious Gastroenteritis Report Form. Links to forms are below.

Mass Outbreaks of Influenza, Infectious Gastroenteritis, and Other Diseases (For Schools, Kindergartens, Nursery Schools, Social Welfare Facilities, etc.) [Kita Ward HP]

Related information

Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare: What is Norovirus? (External link) What is Rotavirus? (External link)

Tokyo Metropolitan Infectious Disease Surveillance Center: Infectious gastroenteritis (mainly viral gastroenteritis) (link to an external site)

Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Government: Beware of infectious gastroenteritis and food poisoning caused by norovirus (link to an external site)