Didactic Med · Clinical Flip-Card Series

Foodborne Illness & Traveler's Diarrhea

A rapid-recall deck of the pathogens behind acute gastroenteritis — organized by mechanism, keyed by onset time, and mapped to current IDSA / ISTM management. Tap any card to reveal the clinical detail.

28 cards 6 categories Physician-reviewed Offline · single-file

The first clue is the clock

Time from ingestion to symptom onset narrows the differential before any test returns.

1–6 hPreformed toxin (Staph, B. cereus emetic) — vomiting leads

8–16 hIn-vivo toxin (C. perfringens, B. cereus diarrheal)

1–5 daysInvasive bacteria (Salmonella, Campylobacter, Shigella, STEC)

1–2+ weeksParasites & Hep A — think persistent / returning traveler