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Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Unfortunately, there is no vaccine for norovirus, although at least one company has a vaccine preparation undergoing clinical trials. This may help in the future to prevent many of the 3 million to 5 million deaths per year worldwide due to diarrhea. Since many underdeveloped countries have no commercially made electrolyte solutions available (both oral and IV), the WHO recommends the following for fluid rehydration, especially for children because they have a smaller fluid and electrolyte reserve than adults: Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar with ¼ teaspoon of table salt with ¼ teaspoon of baking soda in 1 liter of clean (treated or boiled) water. Other investigators suggest adding about ½ cup of clear (no pulp) fruit juice to this solution to provide added potassium. In 2006, the WHO recommended a new oral rehydration salts (ORS) formula that can be prepackaged, shipped to underdeveloped countries, and simply poured into clean water. The WHO hopes ORS will lead to a two-third reduction in childhood deaths in underdeveloped countries due to diarrhea by 2015.

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