Aetiological characteristics of adult acute diarrhoea in a general hospital of Shanghai.
Epidemic surveillance is an effective means to determine the characteristics of acute diarrhoea and the benefits of disease control and prevention. The epidemiological, clinical, and aetiological data of adult (aged ⩾15 years) acute diarrhoea in a general hospital in Shanghai were collected and analysed. Out of 2430 acute diarrhoea patients, 162 subjects were sampled (sample ratio 15:1). The sampled subjects had an average age (±s.d.) of 44 ± 18 years; 142 (87·7%) had a history that indicated ingestion of contaminated food; and 40 (24·7%), 54 (33·3%), and 73 (45·1%) patients had diarrhoea that was attributed to viral, bacterial, and unknown aetiological origins respectively. Viral diarrhoea is mainly prevalent during the winter and spring months, while bacterial and diarrhoea of unknown aetiology occur mainly in the summer months. The average age of the unknown aetiology group (48 ± 19 years) was significantly older than that of the viral diarrhoea group (39 ± 16 years). The number of patients with vomiting in the viral group (30·6%) was significantly higher than that in the bacterial (17·1%) and unknown aetiology (8·2%) groups. Viral and bacterial infections are the main cause of acute diarrhoea in Shanghai. However, further effective technological means are needed to improve the surveillance, control, and prevention of acute diarrhoea.
Microbiology Laboratory,Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of Xuhui,Xuhui District,Shanghai,China.
X
X
Zhao
Microbiology Laboratory,Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of Xuhui,Xuhui District,Shanghai,China.
B
B
Ni
Microbiology Laboratory,Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of Xuhui,Xuhui District,Shanghai,China.
Y
Y
Wang
Microbiology Laboratory,Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of Xuhui,Xuhui District,Shanghai,China.
X
X
Shen
Microbiology Laboratory,Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of Xuhui,Xuhui District,Shanghai,China.
C
C
Zhang
Microbiology Laboratory,Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of Xuhui,Xuhui District,Shanghai,China.
J
J
Liu
Microbiology Laboratory,Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of Xuhui,Xuhui District,Shanghai,China.
S
S
Li
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012621:Seasons; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D055815:Young Adult
Acute diarrhoea; acute gastroenteritis; bacterial infection; surveillance; viral infection