Gastro-enteritis in Australian children: studies on the aetiology of acute diarrhoea

SUMMARY

A prospective, year-long study of the microbiology of childhood gastro-enteritis in Perth showed that (i) Aeromonas-aissociatcd diarrhoea was the commonest recognized bacterial cause for acute diarrhoea, especially in summer, (ii) Campylobacter infections were the next most common bacterial cause, (iii) rotavirus and parasites were not significant causes of sporadic acute childhood diarrhoea, and (iv) enteric bacterial pathogens and intestinal parasites were often isolated from Aboriginal children, whether they had diarrhoea or not. Infections with enterotoxigenic bacteria, including enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) and enterotoxigenic Aeromonas spp., were important causes of acute diarrhoea in Aboriginal children. This is probably due to faecal pollution of their living environment and inadequate personal and community hygiene. Infections with enterotoxigenic bacteria, especially ETEC, are major causes of acute diarrhoea where living conditions are unsatisfactory, as in many developing countries. Simple and cheap methods are needed to identify these infections. A biotyping method was used to screen for ETEC which could improve the efficiency of recognizing these bacteria and help to reduce the number of tests needed to identify ETEC.