据估计,在亚非拉国家,每年有30～50亿人发生急性腹泻,导致500～1,000万人死亡。就世界分布而言,有两类病毒是重要的肠道病原体。任何年龄均可患急性病毒性胃肠炎,但威胁生命者一般仅见于婴儿和体弱者。近10年来,对引起胃肠炎病毒的认识已有了重大进展。但是,全世界流行病学研究表明,已知的肠道病毒并不是急性肠炎的常见病因。 It is estimated that in Asia, Africa and Latin America, 3 to 5 billion people suffer from acute diarrhea each year, resulting in 5 to 10 million deaths. In terms of the world distribution, two types of viruses are important enteric pathogens. Acute viral gastroenteritis can occur at any age, but life-threatening individuals are generally found only in infants and infirm. In the past 10 years, great progress has been made in understanding the cause of gastroenteritis virus. However, epidemiological studies worldwide show that known enteroviruses are not a common cause of acute enteritis.