Diarrhoeal Diseases

This was the conclusion of the specialisation course in Cell Biology, of which I was a student in the first cohort, under the guidance of Professor Andre Rene Barboni, in which this work aimed to describe the evolution of bacterial gastroenteritis in Brazil based on the data available on the DATASUS website, trying to estimate the underreporting of gastroenteritis in the various Brazilian regions, and characterising the importance of a computerised and epidemiologically sustained surveillance system for public health. However, it was not possible, based solely on DATASUS data, to establish the real prevalence of gastroenteritis in the various Brazilian regions and states, due to the lack of importance that is still given to diarrhoeal diseases, which is evident in the under-reporting and even lack of recording of diarrhoeal events. Despite these difficulties, the profile of mortality from gastroenteritis is not homogeneous, since it is related to basic sanitation conditions, hygiene habits, low resistance to infections and access to health services.