An etiological study of bacterial diarrhea among infants in Paraguay in 1990.

Abstract

An etiological study of bacterial diarrhea in infants under five years of age in Paraguay from May to July of 1990 was done. Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) strains of known serogroups were isolated from 35.8% of the patients with diarrhea, Salmonella spp. were isolated from 15.1%, enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) strains were isolated from 5.7%, and Shigella and Campylobacter spp. were isolated from 3.8% respectivery. No enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) or Vibrio spp. was isolated. Out of 53 diarrheal patients, 34 cases (64.1%) had bacterial diarrheal diseases. The infants under one year of age with diarrhea were predominant among inpatient and outpatient children under five years of age and the total number of male diarrheal cases was greater than that of female cases. Enteropathogenic organisms were isolated from nine out of 12 water samples taken from the Paraguay River. The major serotype (018) of the EPEC isolated from the water samples of the Paraguay River corresponded to the major serotype isolated from patients with diarrhea.

Major Enteropathogenic Bacteria Isolated from Diarrheal Patients in Bolivia: A Hospital‐Based Study

“…Concomitantly, 139 (11.3%) strains of EPEC, 55 (4.4%) of ETEC, 27 (2.2%) of EIEC, and 1 (0.1%) of EHEC serogroups were isolated. (9). The EAF of classic EPEC (3,6) was not determined in this investigation.…”

“…As a rule, it is recommended that more than 5 colonies be examined in screening agglutination tests. It is likely, therefore, that the use of only 3 colonies in our agglutination test resulted in a low isolation rate as compared to that in tests using 5 colonies (6,9), and that the isolation rate would have been higher had more than 3 colonies been examined in this study.…”

“…Some serovars of Shigella and Salmonella have been demonstrated (6) while others have not (1,7,9,23). Typhoid fever has also been reported in Latin American countries (12,14,21).…”

“…Unfortunately, the efficacy of treatment with oral rehydration solutions (ORS) for cholera patients and watery diarrheal infants (pathogens not detected) was not confirmed in our laboratory (La Paz). The various risk factors for acute or chronic diarrhea include polluted water (7,9), food samples (1,17), food handlers (12), breast feeding (7), and poor maternal and infant care (18). Etiologic agents as well as host-related, environmental, cultural, and behavioral factors are therefore ET AL involved in the pathogenesis of diarrhea.…”

“…SS agar is a highly selective medium used for isolat- (1,7,9,23). Typhoid fever has also been reported in Latin American countries (12,14,21).…”