Infectious Diarrhea: New Pathogens and New Challenges in Developed and Developing Areas

Diarrheal illness remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide despite ongoing progress in our basic understanding of its epidemiology pathogenesis and treatment. In developing areas where access to safe drinking water and sewage disposal are often limited or even absent infectious diarrhea is a major cause of childhood mortality with an estimated 1.9 and 5.6 million deaths among children globally per year (i.e. 15000 and 15000 children dying each day) because of diarrhea and malnutrition respectively. Beyond this however are the underrecognized longterm effects of frequent early childhood diarrheal episodes which include permanent shortfalls in physical and cognitive development with decrements of up to 8 cm in growth 10 intelligent quotient points and 12 months of schooling attributable to early childhood diarrhea and enteric parasitic infection. (excerpt)