Extended range of tests for gastroenteritis
Tests for gastroenteritis
Responsible for an estimated 5- 10 million deaths worldwide per year, gaststroenteritis is the inflammation of the stomach and intestines induced by infective agents. The main symptom is diarrhoea, with other symptoms, such as abdominal pain, cramping, nausea and vomiting also common. Especially in young children and the elderly, the diarrhoea and vomiting can lead to the patients becoming rapidly deyhdrated. Although many cases do not require hospitalisation, the mortality in untreated cases is high. Rapid, differential diagnosis of the cause of infection is important both for patient treatment and to adopt appropriate infection control measures. To meet this diagnostic challenge, the ProSpecT range of qualitative enzyme immunoassays for the diagnosis of enteric infectious disease has recently been extended to include test kits for adenovirus, astrovirus, Clostridium difficile, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia and Giardia/Cryptosporidium, Rotavirus and Shiga Toxin Escherichia coli. The easy-to-use, diagnostic tests require minimal hands-on time, are suitable for automated protocols such as DSX and Triturus and provide results in less than two hours. The test kits all have a common substrate, wash buffer and stop solution, plus colour-coded kit-specific components for ease of handling.
Oxoid Ltd.
