Gastroenteritis is considered as one of the leading causes of illness and death in children under 5 years age, especially in developing countries. It is one of the major public health problems among childhood in Gaza strip, Palestine. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of enteric pathogen-associated community gastroenteritis among kindergarten children in Gaza. A total of 150 stool samples were collected and investigated for parasitic, viral and bacterial pathogens at Al Azhar microbiology laboratories by using standard microbiological and serological procedures. Out of the 150 study samples, the overall percentage of positive stool samples with a known enteric pathogen was 60.6%. The prevalence of different enteric pathogens causing community gastroenteritis among symptomatic cases (88.5%) was significantly higher than the prevalence in asymptomatic carriage (11.1%). The most prevalent isolated enteric pathogens were Entamoeba histolytica (28.0%) and Giardia lamblia (26.7%). Rotavirus was found in 3.1% of symptomatic cases but not detected in asymptomatic carriage. However, adenovirus type 40 and 41 were not detected in any of the study samples. The bacterial enteric pathogens Shigella and Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC) have comparable occurrence as rotavirus (3.1%), meanwhile, Salmonella was not isolated. Mixed infection with more than 1 pathogen was found (11.4%) only among symptomatic cases. Children aged 3-year-old showed the highest prevalence of community gastroenteritis. This study demonstrates a high prevalence of parasitic enteropathogens and a relatively low prevalence of bacterial and viral enteropathogens among kindergarten children living in Gaza city, moreover, children aged 3 years old showed the highest prevalence of isolated enteropathogens.

Gastroenteritis is one of the leading causes of illness and death in children under five-years old, especially in devel oping countries. It is also one of the leading causes of deaths among this population in Gaza strip. This study conducted to determine the incidence of different enteric pathogens causing community gastroenteritis among kindergarten children in Gaza. One hundred and fifty stool samples were collected and investigated for parasitic, viral, and bacterial pathogens at Al Azhar microbiology laboratories using standard microbiological and serological procedures. Out of the 150 study population, the overall percentage of positive stool samples with a known enteric pathogen was 60.6%. The incidence of different enteric pathogens causing community gastroenteritis in diarrhea cases was significantly higher than in controls (88.5% versus 11.1%). The most prevalent enteric pathogens isolated were Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia (28%, 26.7% respectively). Rotavirus was found in 3.1% of cases but not detected in controls; adenovirus types 40 and 41 were not detected. The bacterial enteric pathogens Shigella and Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli 0157:H7 (EHEC) had similar rates as rotavirus (3.1%); no Salmonella was found. 7.4% of children had more than one pathogen detected. This study demonstrated a high percentage of parasitic enteropathogens and a relatively low percentage of bacterial and viral enteropathogens among kindergarten children. Children aged three had the highest incidence of isolated enteropathogens.