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What is stomach flu?

text reading 'stomach flu is not influenza'
Posted on May 15, 2022
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The term “stomach flu” is NOT the same as “seasonal flu” which is caused by the influenza virus and has mostly respiratory symptoms.

What people usually mean when they say “stomach flu” is gastroenteritis, which is an inflammation of the lining of the stomach and intestines, causing an acute onset of severe vomiting and diarrhea. This is usually NOT caused by influenza.

Gastroenteritis is often caused by other viruses like norovirus, rotavirus, adenovirus, and astrovirus.

Symptoms of gastroenteritis include:

  • watery diarrhea
  • pain or cramping in your abdomen
  • nausea or vomiting
  • sometimes fever

Symptoms of influenza include:

  • fever* or feeling feverish/chills
  • cough
  • sore throat
  • runny or stuffy nose
  • muscle or body aches
  • headaches
  • fatigue (tiredness)
  • some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.
    *It’s important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.

While there can be some overlap, the biggest difference is that stomach bugs are caused by different viruses than influenza.

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