A microbiological study of gastro-enteritis in Black infants.
A survey was carried out to determine the aetiological agents responsible for acute gastro-enteritis in Black infants. Bacteriological examination of 191 patients and 178 age-matched controls showed that salmonellae and shigellae together accounted for only 15% of cases and were harboured by almost 7% of controls. Seropositive 'enteropathogenic' Escherichia coli was an important cause of diarrhoea, especially in the summer months. Enterotoxin-producing E. coli was not a significant cause of gastro-enteritis in this study. This study suggests that routine serotyping of E. coli from infantile gastro-enteritis should be continued until the relationship of serotype and enterotoxigenicity with enteropathogenicity has been established. Rotaviruses were detected by electron microscopy in 14,4% of children. The clinical features associated with the different infectious agents are described.
D001741:Black or African American; D000818:Animals; D044383:Black People; D004768:Enterotoxins; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000382:microbiology*; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D051379:Mice; D012087:Reoviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012475:Salmonella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012621:Seasons; D012760:Shigella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013019:South Africa
D004768:Enterotoxins