Acute Gastroenteritis Among Indigenous Paediatric Patients – A Descriptive Study in a Rural District Hospital, Sarawak

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is one of the frequent causes of hospitalization in children under age of five in the hospital setting, both in Malaysia and throughout the world, especially in developing countries[1, 2]. It is estimated that approximately 440,000 annual deaths in children <5 years of age worldwide are due to diarrhea related illnesses, with rotavirus as the main cause[1]. Due to the inability to cope with greater body fluid loss and immature rena