DIARRHEA (Infectious Diarrhea)（腹泻(感染性腹泻)）.pdf

DIARRHEA (Infectious Diarrhea) Diarrhea is defined as: 1) an increase in the number How is it spread? of stools over what is normal for that person, and 2) The germs that can cause infectious diarrhea are stools which are not formed (i.e., loose and watery spread by fecal-oral route. and take the shape of the container they are in). (NOTE: Breast-fed babies may have stools that are How is it diagnosed and treated? normally not formed). The germs can be diagnosed by stool cultures or by looking at stool under a microscope for eggs or There are two (2) general types of diarrhea: parasites. (The healthcare provider will ask for a infectious and non-infectious. stool sample and send it to a laboratory for analysis). The physician will decide on appropriate Infectious Diarrhea is caused by a virus, parasite, treatment. or bacterium. It can spread quickly from person-to- person, especially in daycare centers. Some of the How can the spread of diarrhea be causes of infectious diarrhea, such as Campylobacteriosis, shiga-toxin producing E. coli, prevented? giardiasis, salmonellosis and shigellosis, are Hand washing is the most important way to stop the discussed in their own fact sheets found in this spread. Specific methods for preventing the spread