title: The relative importance of Shigella in the aetiology of childhood gastroenteritis in Saudi Arabia.
abstract: The role of shigella infection in childhood gastroenteritis was studied over a 2-year period. Shigella species were found in the faecal specimens of 70 (1%) of 7369 children with gastroenteritis, but in only 1 (0.1%) of 1130 controls. S. flexneri was the commonest isolate (51%), followed by S. sonnei (37%). Most shigella species were isolated during the winter. The prevalence of shigellosis was highest for children 1-5 years of age but equal for both sexes. Fever, abdominal cramps, vomiting, and bloody diarrhoea were the predominant clinical features. Of the shigella isolates, 73% were resistant to cotrimoxazole, 43% to ampicillin, and 41% to chloramphenicol. One-third of isolates were resistant to greater than or equal to 3 antibiotics. All isolates were susceptible to nalidixic acid. The illness was mild and self-limiting and most patients recovered without antimicrobial therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, King Khalid University Hospital, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: al-Eissa
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: al-Zamil
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: al-Kharashi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kambal
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chowdhury
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: al-Ayed
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004405:Dysentery, Bacillary / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012760:Shigella / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*