Open AccessBacterial, viral and parasitic enteric pathogens associated with acute diarrhea in hospitalized children from northern Jordan
Author(s) -
Youssef Mohammad,
Shurman Abdallah,
Bougnoux MarieElisabeth,
Rawashdeh Mohammad,
Bretagne Stephane,
Strockbine Nancy
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
fems immunology & medical microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1574-695X
pISSN - 0928-8244
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-695x.2000.tb01485.x
Subject(s) - rotavirus , microbiology and biotechnology , shigella , biology , diarrhea , giardia lamblia , salmonella , campylobacter , cryptosporidium , enterotoxigenic escherichia coli , entamoeba histolytica , norovirus , virology , campylobacter jejuni , population , giardia , feces , enterotoxin , escherichia coli , medicine , virus , bacteria , biochemistry , genetics , environmental health , gene
To determine the etiology of acute diarrhea in Jordanian children under 5 years of age, we examined stool samples from 265 children admitted to the pediatric ward at Princess Rahma Hospital for Children, Irbid, Jordan, for parasites, rotavirus and enteric bacteria. Using both traditional and molecular diagnostic techniques, we detected enteropathogens in 66.4% of patients with diarrhea. A single enteric pathogen was detected in 50.9% of the children, and multiple pathogens were detected in 15.5%. The prevalence of enteropathogens identified was as follows: rotavirus (32.5%), enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (12.8%), enteroaggregative E. coli (10.2), enterotoxigenic E. coli (5.7%), Shigella spp. (4.9%), Entamoeba histolytica (4.9%), Salmonella spp. (4.5%), Campylobacter jejuni/coli (1.5%), Cryptosporidium spp. (1.5%), enteroinvasive E. coli (1.5%), eae ‐, E hly ‐positive E. coli (0.8%), Giardia lamblia (0.8%) and Yersinia enterocolitica (0.4%). No Vibrio cholerae , Shiga toxin‐producing E. coli , microsporidia, adenovirus or small round virus were detected. Findings from this study demonstrate that rotavirus and several types of diarrheagenic E. coli , which are not screened for during routine examinations of stool samples in public health laboratories, were the most frequently detected enteropathogens in these children. Our findings highlight the value of using a combination of traditional and molecular techniques in the diagnosis of diarrheal disease in this population.