Childhood diarrhoea and its association with enteropathogenic Esch. coli.

Six hundred and twenty children with diarrhoea were studied. The maximum number of patients were seen in the age group of 7 to 12 months, i.e., an incidence of 46%. 75% of diarrhoea patients were below the age of one year. The peak incidence (52%) of diarrhoea was observed during the months of May to August. 64.5% of the patients had varying degrees of undernutrition associated with diarrhoea. In 71 children, bacteriological studies were done. Bacterial pathogens were isolated only in 29% of the stool samples. Enteropathogenic Esch. coli was the commonest pathogen isolated (21.1%). The serotypes frequently isolated were 086, 0119 012o and 0128. 0111 and 055 serotypes of Esch. coli were not detected in the present series. It is suggested that approximately one-third of cases of diarrhoea in children are due to pathogenic organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]