The end of the symptoms of gastroenteritis does not mean the end of the contagion. It all depends on the cause of the infection.
Acute gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the lining of the digestive tract. Most often, it is of viral origin and very contagious. This infection occurs following an incubation period of 24 to 72 hours. Gastroenteritis is manifested by acute diarrhea of sudden onset, “this diarrhea is characterized by an increase in the frequency of stools with more than three stools in 24 hours and a change in their consistency, the stools becoming soft or watery“, highlighted Ameli Health.
How is gastroenteritis transmitted? The transmission of the viruses, bacteria or bacteria responsible for this inflammation of the lining of the digestive tract is the result of direct contact with a sick person, food contaminated by a sick person or contact with objects on which deposited fine particles from the stools of sick people.
Three days off work
Generally, the Health Insurance recommends that doctors issue a work stoppage of three days, depending on the severity of the symptoms. But healing does not mean the end of the contagion. Indeed, the viruses, bacteria or parasites responsible for the development of the disease can take several weeks to be excreted in the stool.
The time until contagion ends depends on the origin of the gastroenteritis. In the case of norovirus infection, the highest rate of faecal excretion occurs 24 to 48 hours following all symptoms have disappeared. When the bacteria are the culprit of the infection, they stay longer in the body. In the case of salmonella, the bacteria was shed up to 102 days later. Some parasites like Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica et Cryptosporidium spp may also remain in the stool for several weeks.
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