Medical Information Blog

A severe outbreak caused by a virus in the stomach could be the cause of heartburn in the future, according to a new study.

A serious bacterial or viral infection in the digestive system, called infectious gastroenteritis, could lead to irritable bowel syndrome, perhaps by generating a low-grade intestinal inflammation, according to Dr. Alex Ford Medical Center at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

Previous studies had suggested that such infections may be also associated with functional dyspepsia, which includes symptoms of acid reflux, satiety and indigestion of unknown cause, but without solid evidence.

The team studied a group of people in the small rural town of Walkerton, Ontario, during an outbreak of bacterial gastroenteritis occurred in 2000 by contamination of municipal water supply with cattle feces.

At that time became ill at least 2,300 people and seven died.

After two years of the epidemic, the team collected a representative sample of the population of that locality. In 2008, the team conducted a follow-up among 1088 control participants, two thirds of who had become ill in the outbreak.

40 percent of the group had symptoms of dyspepsia, acid reflux, and uncomfortable sensations of fullness after eating, they said.

Half of those who had become ill during the outbreak of gastroenteritis had dyspepsia, unlike 30 percent of those who were not sick. The risk was twice as high for victims of the epidemic and that continued after further restrict the definition of indigestion.

For the team, the results suggest that intestinal infections “can trigger symptoms in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract with long-term consequences.”

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