Shigellosis: A Potential Missed Diarrhea among Patients Attending Kashere General Hospital

Abstract

Background Diarrheal diseases are a major public health concern globally and the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children in Africa and most other developing countries. Children between the ages of five and below are particularly at high risk of diarrheal diseases. Rural areas in Nigeria are particularly vulnerable to diarrheal diseases due to poor sanitation, unsafe drinking water, poor hygiene practices, and low immunization coverage, among others. In view of these, the research wishes to isolate and identify common diarrhea-causing bacteria from stool samples of patients attending Kashere General Hospital as a rural community.Materials and Methods Stool samples were collected from the attending Hospital and subjected to microbiologically standard procedures for the identification of the targeted bacteria.Results The distribution of age groups of samples collected was high (39.9%) for 0–59 months and 60–10 years (28.6%), across genders, with seven different groups of bacteria identified in male and female samples: E. coli spp., Shigella spp., Salmonella typhi, Salmonella paratyphi, and Campylobacter spp., Vibrios spp., and E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter spp., was not isolated from any female sample. There was a significant difference in the number of Shigella spp. isolates from Samonella paratyphi and Salmonella typhi, Vibrio spp., and E. coli.Conclusion There is an alarming rate of isolation of Shigella among children under five years of age that cuts across genders in the first ever reported prevalence in the study area. This is important in terms of a strategic public health approach to address factors supporting the infection chain for the transmission of diarrheal pathogens in the area. However, further studies may be needed to confirm these observations and identify additional risk factors associated with bacterial infections in this population.