Microbial etiology of acute gastroenteritis in hospitalized children in Kuwait

Abstract

During a period of 15 months 621 hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis and 152 control children were investigated for etiologic agents of the disease. Putative enteropathogens were identified in 86% of the patients and 10% of the controls. Common viral agents associated with gastroenteritis among children included rotaviruses (45%) and enteric adenoviruses (4%). Bacterial pathogens infecting children were Salmonella serotypes (24%), enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (9%), Campylobacter jejuni (7%), enteropathogenic E. coli (7%), Shigella (4%) and enterotoxigenic Aeromonas sp. (1%). The highest incidence of infections was observed in the 3− to 25-month age group. Mixed±