Rapid Diagnosis of the Causes of Gastroenteritis

Oxoid is pleased to announce that the ProSpecTTM range of qualitative enzyme immunoassays has recently been extended to include test kits for Adenovirus, Astrovirus, Clostridium difficile, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia, Giardia/Cryptosporidium, Rotavirus, Shiga Toxin Escherichia coli. These easy-to-use, diagnostic tests for enteric infectious disease (gastroenteritis), caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites, require minimal hands-on time, are suitable for automated protocols (DSXTM and Triturus®) and provide results in less than two hours. The test kits have common substrate, wash buffer and

stop solution, plus colour-coded kit-specific components for ease of handling.

Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the stomach and intestines. The main symptom is diarrhoea, with other symptoms, such as abdominal pain, cramping, nausea and vomiting, also seen. The diarrhoea and vomiting can lead to patients, particularly young children and the elderly, rapidly becoming dehydrated. Although many cases do not require hospitalisation, it is estimated that gastroenteritis causes 5-10 million deaths per year worldwide.

Gastroenteritis may be caused by viral, bacterial or parasitic infections, with the most common routes of infection being food, contaminated water or contact with an infected person. Although anyone may become infected, people at a higher risk include young children, the elderly, immunocompromised people and travellers. Rapid, differential diagnosis of the cause of infection is important, both for patient treatment and appropriate infection control measures. ProSpecT tests are quick and easy to perform, giving sensitive and specific results for the majority of causes of gastroenteritis.