Gastroenteritis 'costing Irish economy €250m annually'

The all-Ireland Food Safety Promotion Board has revealed that almost 9,000 cases of acute gastroenteritis are diagnosed on both sides of the border every day.

The board said the illness was causing up to 1.5 million lost working days every year and was costing the economies in the Republic and the North around €250m annually.

Gastroenteritis is an irritation and inflammation of the digestive tract which can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and dehydration.