Acute gastroenteritis in northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland: a telephone survey.

Most people with acute gastroenteritis do not seek medical care and are therefore not captured by routine surveillance. For this reason, population-based studies are needed to measure the burden of illness. A study of acute gastroenteritis in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland surveyed 9,903 people by telephone over the 12-month period from December 2000 to November 2001. The rate of acute gastroenteritis was 0.60 episodes per person per year. A general practitioner was consulted by 29.2% of those reporting illness, and 2.0% submitted a stool sample. The use of antibiotics was reported by 7.4% of ill respondents and 14.8% took anti-diarrhoeals. Taking days off work due to illness, was reported by 17.4% of respondents. Acute gastroenteritis causes a large amount of illness in the community. There are established and effective measures to prevent this condition and the challenge is to find new ways of promoting these precautions.