Diarrhoea Viruses:

Diarrhoea: from the Greek dia (through) and rhein (to flow).

Diarrhoea is not as dramatic an illness as AIDS or smallpox. However, the above groups of viruses are of great economic importance, causing millions of lost working days each year, as well as much discomfort. Diarrhoea continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide resulting in an estimated 1,000 deaths among children each day, the highest incidence being in developing countries of the world. One well documented source of infection is the consumption of shellfish (polluted by sewage) - and therefore, they also have economic consequences for fishermen and the food industry. Such viruses often cause mini-epidemics in families, hospital wards, etc and are potentially very dangerous to seriously ill hospital patients. More importantly, these viruses contribute to the massive mortality caused by infantile diarrhoea in developing countries and are responsible for uncounted millions of deaths each year.