title: Bacterial and viral causes of acute diarrhoea in children in Kuwait.
abstract: Bacterial and viral causes of acute diarrhoea were studied prospectively for one year in 343 hospitalised young children in Kuwait. In 288 (84%) patients, one or more pathogens were identified compared with 12 of 86 (13.9%) children admitted with diseases other than diarrhoea (p less than 0.01). Forty-four (12.9%) of the patients were infected with two or more pathogens. Viral agents detected in the stools were rotaviruses (40.2%), enteric adenoviruses (1.7%), and enteroviruses (1.5%). Enterobacteria were isolated from the stools of 44% of the patients as follows: Salmonella (18.0%), enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) (17.5%), enterotoxigenic E. coli (6.7%), Shigella (5.0%), Campylobacter jejuni (2.3%), Vibrio cholerae non-01 (2.3%), Yersinia enterocolitica (1.5%), and Aeromonas hydrophila (0.9%). The incidence of diarrhoea in children showed two seasonal peaks: during March-May and October-November. The present study indicates that Salmonella and EPEC are the major causes of bacterial gastroenteritis, while rotaviruses are the main cause of viral gastroenteritis in young children in Kuwait.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sethi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Khuffash
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D001424:Bacterial Infections; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007730:Kuwait / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D014777:Virus Diseases