Abstract
Gastrointestinal infections primarily affect the small and large intestine, less frequently the oesophagus and stomach. The causative agents may include bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi.
Oesophagitis mainly occurs in immunocompromised patients including those who are HIV positive; the aetiology is dominated by candidas, herpes simplex virus and cytomegalovirus. Intestinal infections present as acute gastroenteritis or enterocolitis.
In the Czech Republic, the most common causative agents are campylobacters, salmonellas; rotaviruses and noroviruses. Clostridium difficile has an increasing significance in association with the worldwide emergence of a new hypervirulent strain referred to as ribotype 027.
In addition to dehydration, complications may include febrile convulsions, encephalopathy, haemolytic-uraemic syndrome, arthritis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and erythema nodosum; toxic megacolon with intestinal perforation and extraintestinal infections caused by invasive pathogens may also have a severe course.