# Irritable Bowel Syndrome Common After Bacterial Dysentery Outbreak



## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Common After Bacterial Dysentery Outbreak NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Sept 07 - A bout of bacterial dysentery greatly increases the chances of developing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), according to Canadian researchers.These study results, lead investigator Dr. John K. Marshall told Reuters Health, "demonstrate conclusively that PI-IBS (postinfectious IBS) is a real and significant clinical phenomenon, and that characteristics of patients and their acute enteric illness can predict future risk of PI-IBS."In the August issue of Gastroenterology, Dr. Marshall of McMaster University Medical Center, Hamilton and colleagues report their study more than 2000 residents of Walkerton, a small rural town in Ontario, who had been exposed to contaminated municipal water some two years earlier. This led to an outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Campylobacter jejuni gastroenteritis.In all, about 700 subjects did not develop gastroenteritis at the time of the outbreak and were designated as controls. Of this group, 10.1% met Rome 1 criteria for IBS, compared to 249 of 904 (27.5%) of subjects with self-reported gastritis and 168 of 464 (36.2%) of those with clinically suspected gastroenteritis.Thus, say the investigators, the relative risk of developing IBS was significantly increased in residents who had experienced bacterial gastroenteritis from contamination (odds ratio, 4.8).Risk factors included being female, being younger and having weight loss and prolonged diarrhea."While many residents of Walkerton have recovered fully," Dr. Marshall observed, "others continue to suffer."He concluded: "If we can identify patients at risk of PI-IBS at the time of enteric infection, we hope one day to be able to target them for early treatment and improve their outcomes."Gastroenterol 2006;131:445-450.


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