Intestinal infectious diseases become active in summer, doctors explain how to fight them

Recently, parents of young children have been raising the alarm that their children are regularly experiencing high fever, weakness, and vomiting. In an interview with NEWS.am, Dr. Nerses Grigoryan, an epidemiologist at the Department of Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Armenia, noted that intestinal infectious diseases are constantly active in the summer, but at the moment the situation is under control.

“Intestinal infectious diseases have a number of specific symptoms: first of all, running a fever, having nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Children are more often affected by intestinal infectious diseases, but the elderly and people with chronic diseases are also at risk,” the doctor noted.

According to Nerses Grigoryan, gastrointestinal viruses enter the human body mainly through food and water.

"For prevention, first of all, people should observe the rules of personal hygiene, regularly wash their hands with soap. In addition, food should be stored in the right conditions, perishable food should be stored in the refrigerator, packaged. Cooked food should be stored on higher shelves, raw food on lower shelves. Both processing and preparation of food are very important. If we have both raw and cooked food, and we use the same kitchen utensils, we must constantly wash them so that the infection does not spread from one type of food to another," the doctor noted.

According to the epidemiologist, intestinal infections can be spread also through water. Although drinking water flows from the tap, there are cases when problems arise in the system. In this case, you need to be careful, and if you notice that the water is cloudy or has a certain smell, you should avoid using it for drinking. Such water can only be used after boiling and cooling.

“Now the season of outdoor parties has begun. You need to be very careful, take washed fruits and vegetables because there is often no opportunity to do so on site. You should avoid bringing cream pastries, various meat products, and sausages. If you use meat products, you need to cook them properly. Barbecue, for example, should not be kept on the fire for a long time,” Nerses Grigoryan noted.

Also, he urged not to engage in self-medication in case of symptoms of intestinal infection, but to consult a doctor.

“If antibiotics are used without a doctor’s prescription, the infection may simply not pass and become chronic. Or the bacteria may become resistant, as a result of which treatment is more difficult,” he noted.

According to Dr. Anna Stepanyan, an epidemiologist at the Armenian National Center for Infectious Diseases, depending on the severity of the symptoms, people can contact a primary health care provider—a pediatrician or therapist—and then, if necessary, undergo inpatient treatment.

"Children and adults are more prone to intestinal diseases. Although it is difficult to distinguish a clear age group; in fact, they are more common in children," she said, and noted that treatment methods may differ depending on the severity of the symptoms.

According to the infectious disease specialist, Enterovirus infections are transmitted by the fecal-oral and airborne routes, and therefore, to prevent the spread of the virus, it is necessary to follow the rules of personal hygiene. In addition, it is important to thoroughly wash the fruits and vegetables used under running water.

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