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Objectives: To determine the etiology of acute diarrhea in Palestinian children under 5 years of age and to improve knowledge of the etiology of gastrointestinal pathogens using traditional and molecular diagnostic techniques. Materials and Methods: Various common enteropathogens (viral, bacterial and parasites) associated with diarrhea were investigated by conventional and molecular techniques (PCR) in 150 children less than 5 years of age admitted to the Central Pediatric Hospital, Gaza Strip, Palestine. Results: The occurrence of enteropathogens identified was as follows: rotavirus 42/150 (28%), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar 23/150 (15%), Shigella spp. 9/150 (6%), Campylobacter coli/jejuni and Escherichia coli O157:H7 7/150 (5%) each, Salmonella spp. 3/150 (2%), Giardia intestinalis 1/150 (1%), and Strongyloides stercoralis 1/150 (1%) of the samples. Shigella and Salmonella isolates were tested for their susceptibility to common antimicrobial agents and most of the isolates were resistant to ampicillin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that rotavirus, E. coli O157:H7 and Campylobacter, which are not routinely screened for in Gaza Strip, were significant enteropathogens. The results highlight the value of using a combination of traditional and PCR techniques in the diagnosis of enteropathogens related to gastroenteritis.

A survey on clinical isolates from urine samples was conducted and the data obtained were analyzed to determine the most common bacterial causes of urinary tract infection in the Gaza Strip and to evaluate the sensitivity patterns to selected antimicrobials that are commonly used to treat such pathogens. Urine samples were taken for culture from inpatients and outpatients at Al-shifa hospital in Gaza. Urinary tract pathogens were identified and their susceptibility to antimicrobials was determined. Of the 4778 processed urine samples, only 1637 were recorded as positive (34%) and only 1283 were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility. Escherichia coli was the most frequent uropathogen (42%), followed by Klebsiella spp. (12.2%), Pseudomonas spp. < (10.2%), other Gram-negative bacilli (8%), b hemolytic streptococci (7.6%), Enterococcus spp. (6.9%), other Staphylococcus spp. (including S . saprophyticus) (6.5%), Proteus (4.5%), S. aureus (2.1%). Resistance to antimicrobials was extremely alarming. E. coli resistance to amoxicillin reached 97.9%, to piperacillin 78.3%, to doxycycline 90%, to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim 63.9% and to cefaclor 42.2%.