Etiology of Diarrhea in Children Younger Than 5 Years of Age Admitted in a Rural Hospital of Southern Mozambique

Abstract

Diarrhea is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality among children in sub-Saharan Africa and one of the main causes of hospital admissions in rural areas. Stool samples were collected from 529 children admitted with diarrhea to the Manhiça District Hospital (September 2000 to September 2001) and processed to detect bacterial enteropathogens, parasites, and virus. Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli, isolated from 120 samples (22.6%; enteroaggregative [corrected] [9.6%], enterotoxigenic [6.8%], enteropathogenic [corrected] [4.3%], and verotoxigenic [1.9%]) was the most frequently isolated pathogen, followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (9.3%). Others detected included Salmonella spp. and Giardia lamblia (2.5% each) and Campylobacter spp. (1.7%). A. lumbricoides (92% versus 8%; P<0.001) and Strongyloides stercolaris (100% versus 0%; P=0.008) were most frequently isolated in children older than 12 months of age. Resistance to trimethoprim-sulphametoxazole and ampicillin was high. Etiologic data on diarrheal diseases and susceptibility patterns of diarrheal pathogens are important tools for clinical management and control strategic planning.

Aetiology, epidemiology and clinical characteristics of acute moderate-to-severe diarrhoea in children under 5 years of age hospitalized in a referral paediatric hospital in Rabat, Morocco

“…pathotype of E. coli isolated was neither EPEC nor ETEC, similar to previous studies (Mandomando et al, 2007;Vargas et al, 2004), but rather DAEC. Two E. coli isolates presenting mixed characteristics (mixed EAEC/DAEC pathotypes) were detected.…”

“…and Campylobacter spp. The role of EAEC as a relevant cause of paediatric diarrhoea has been described worldwide (Kotloff et al, 2013;Mandomando et al, 2007;Ochoa et al 2009;Vargas et al, 2004). Interestingly, the second most frequent diarrhoeagenic …”

“…A series of pathogens, including bacteria, parasites and viruses, may act as the aetiological cause of this illness (Mandomando et al, 2007;Vargas et al, 2004). Nonetheless, the aetiological agents of diarrhoea vary greatly depending on the geographical origin.…”

Extremely high prevalence of multi-resistance among uropathogens from hospitalised children in Beira, Mozambique

“…[5] Likewise, high resistance to tetracycline was reported among Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates, while diarrhoeagenic E. coli isolates showed high resistance to trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole and ampicillin. [6,7] Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common bacterial infections encountered by clinicians in developing countries and the cause of significant morbidity and mortality. [8] Several studies from the African continent have investigated the profile of common uropathogens and the pattern of their susceptibility to commonly used antimicrobial agents in order to guide choice of empiric therapy.…”

Prevalence of shigella, salmonella and vibrio isolated from stool samples in district hospital

“…Thus, it presents a serious challenge to public health authorities worldwide. 6 The prevalence of Salmonella infection varies depending on the water supply, waste disposal, food preparation practices and climate. Vibrio cholerae mainly causes rice watery diarrhoea leading to rapid dehydration.…”