title: Campylobacter enteritis in Saudi Arabia.
abstract: A 12-month survey on the incidence of campylobacter infection in 1217 patients with diarrhoea was carried out in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Campylobacters were isolated from 55 (4.5%) patients, second in prevalence to salmonellas (6.2%). Shigellas were isolated from 4.2% of patients. Campylobacter isolation rates were high in children of all ages, as well as in young adults (36.5% of all isolates were from adults aged 20-39 years). Isolation rates peaked in September and November. Analysis of the results showed that 69% were Campylobacter jejuni (mostly biotype IV) and 31% C. coli. Serogroups 5 and 23 (Penner scheme) and phage type 125 (Preston scheme) were most frequently isolated. Resistance to erythromycin and tetracycline was observed in 7.3 and 32.7% of the isolates. Campylobacters are an important cause of bacterial enteritis in Saudi Arabia, both in adults and in children, and should be sought routinely.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, King Khalid National Guard Hospital, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zaman
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001434:Bacteriophage Typing; D002167:Campylobacter / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004751:Enteritis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012621:Seasons; D012703:Serotyping; D012737:Sex Factors