Prevalence of enteric pathogen-associated community gastroenteritis among kindergarten children in Gaza

Abstract

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.

Typical & atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in diarrhoea & their role as carrier in children under five

“…In our study, the frequency of EPEC was higher than documented by other Indian studies 12 28 29 , which was evident in the age group of 3-5 yr in the healthy group. This finding was in accordance with another study from Gaza 30 . In India, one study 31 showed the presence of only diarrhoeagenic E. coli (typical EPEC) in non-diarrhoeal stool samples.…”

Asymptomatic Rotavirus infections among children in Maiduguri, Borno state, Northeast, Nigeria

“…It also higher than 7.6% from nondiarrheic children[ 17 ] and no detection of Rotavirus infection among asymptomatic carriage as reported in Gaza. [ 18 ] The report of the present study is higher than that of the Rotavirus prevalence of 7.2% among nondiarrheic children in a hospital setting in Northern Nigeria,[ 19 ] and in 2014, the prevalence of 7.7% which is lower than what it is obtainable in this present study was reported. [ 20 ] However, the prevalence among apparently healthy children in this present study is lower than the prevalence of 44.4% from asymptomatic neonates in India.…”

Epidemiological investigations of diarrhea in children in Praia city, Cape Verde

“…Diarrheal disease is a major cause of infant mortality and morbidity in the world ( Acácio et al, 2019 ) and mainly results from contaminated food and water sources ( Chen et al, 2015 ; Laham et al, 2015 ; Pires et al, 2015 ). Infectious diarrhea is widespread in developing countries, where it remains a public health problem and has a substantially higher impact in low-income countries and regions with poor water quality, sanitation, and food security ( Pires et al, 2015 ).…”

“…In Africa, diarrhea is the leading cause of illness and death among young children, and nearly 50% of deaths from diarrhea in young children occur in Africa ( Workie et al, 2019 ). This disease exposes children to various other infections, predisposing them to malnutrition ( Workie et al, 2019 ), impaired physical development, and stunted growth ( Laham et al, 2015 ).…”