Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Bulletin of the World Health Organization logoLink to Bulletin of the World Health Organization
. 1981;59(1):67–73.

Seasonal fluctuations in the occurrence of enterotoxigenic bacteria and rotavirus in paediatric diarrhoea in Addis Ababa

G Stintzing, E Bäck, B Tufvesson, T Johnsson, T Wadström, D Habte
PMCID: PMC2396019  PMID: 6266682

Abstract

This study (March 1977—February 1978) was performed at the Ethio-Swedish Pediatric Clinic, Addis Ababa, to determine whether there were any seasonal fluctuations in the occurrence of diarrhoea associated with enterotoxigenic enterobacteria (ETEB), rotavirus and two parasites (Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba histolytica).

A total of 1161 children (962 patients and 199 controls) were investigated. ETEB were isolated in 12.2% of the patients and 4.5% of the controls, rotavirus in 27.8% and 8%, and parasites in 6.8% and 1%, respectively. There is a statistically significant difference in the isolation rates between patients and controls (P<0.001 for rotavirus, P<0.01 for ETEB and parasites). Rotavirus was most prevalent in the 7-12 months age group and ETEB during the second year of life, while parasites showed a continuous increase with age.

Two peaks in the occurrence of ETEB were found during the year, the first in August (32.6%), the second in January (19.2%). Two peaks for rotavirus though not as distinct as for ETEB, were seen in June (42.7%) and November (36.4%). The isolation rate of parasites showed no consistent pattern during the year.

This study suggests a seasonal occurrence of ETEB and rotavirus but with no apparent correlation to climatological factors.

Full text

PDF
67

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bishop R. F., Davidson G. P., Holmes I. H., Ruck B. J. Virus particles in epithelial cells of duodenal mucosa from children with acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis. Lancet. 1973 Dec 8;2(7841):1281–1283. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(73)92867-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bäck E., Möllby R., Kaijser B., Stintzing G., Wadström T., Habte D. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and other gram-negative bacteria of infantile diarrhea: surface antigens, hemagglutinins, colonization factor antigen, and loss of enterotoxigenicity. J Infect Dis. 1980 Sep;142(3):318–327. doi: 10.1093/infdis/142.3.318. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Conklin R. H., DuPont H. L., Goldschmidt M. C., Rodriguez J. T. Letter: Occurrence of "viral particles" in diarrhea: Houston, Texas, and Guatemala. N Engl J Med. 1975 Mar 20;292(12):644–645. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cruickshank J. G., Zilberg G. Winter diarrhoea and rotaviruses in Rhodesia. S Afr Med J. 1976 Nov 6;50(47):1895–1896. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Davidson G. P., Bishop R. F., Townley R. R., Holmes I. H. Importance of a new virus in acute sporadic enteritis in children. Lancet. 1975 Feb 1;1(7901):242–246. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(75)91140-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Donta S. T., Wallace R. B., Whipp S. C., Olarte J. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and diarrheal disease in Mexican children. J Infect Dis. 1977 Mar;135(3):482–485. doi: 10.1093/infdis/135.3.482. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Echeverria P., Blacklow N. R., Vollet J. L., 3rd, Ulyangco C. V., Cukor G., Soriano V. B., DuPont H. L., Cross J. H., Orskov F., Orskov I. Reovirus-like agent and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli infections in pediatric diarrhea in the Philippines. J Infect Dis. 1978 Sep;138(3):326–332. doi: 10.1093/infdis/138.3.326. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Freij L. Observations on parasitic and bacterial infections of the intestine among paediatric outpatients in Addis Ababa. Ethiop Med J. 1973 Jan;11(1):13–24. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Guerrant R. L., Moore R. A., Kirschenfeld P. M., Sande M. A. Role of toxigenic and invasive bacteria in acute diarrhea of childhood. N Engl J Med. 1975 Sep 18;293(12):567–572. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197509182931201. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Gästrin B., Kallings L. O., Marcetic A. The survival time for different bacteria in various transport media. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand. 1968;74(3):371–380. doi: 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1968.tb03490.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kapikian A. Z., Kim H. W., Wyatt R. G., Cline W. L., Arrobio J. O., Brandt C. D., Rodriguez W. J., Sack D. A., Chanock R. M., Parrott R. H. Human reovirus-like agent as the major pathogen associated with "winter" gastroenteritis in hospitalized infants and young children. N Engl J Med. 1976 Apr 29;294(18):965–972. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197604292941801. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Maiya P. P., Pereira S. M., Mathan M., Bhat P., Albert M. J., Baker S. J. Aetiology of acute gastroenteritis in infancy and early childhood in southern India. Arch Dis Child. 1977 Jun;52(6):482–485. doi: 10.1136/adc.52.6.482. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Pickering L. K., Evans D. J., Jr, Muñoz O., DuPont H. L., Coello-Ramírez P., Vollet J. J., Conklin R. H., Olarte J., Kohl S. Prospective study of enteropathogens in children with diarrhea in Houston and Mexico. J Pediatr. 1978 Sep;93(3):383–388. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(78)81142-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ryder R. W., Sack D. A., Kapikian A. Z., McLaughlin J. C., Chakraborty J., Mizanur Rahman A. S., Merson M. H., Wells J. G. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Reovirus-like agent in rural Bangladesh. Lancet. 1976 Mar 27;1(7961):659–663. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(76)92776-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sack D. A., Sack R. B. Test for enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli using Y-1 adrenal cells in miniculture. Infect Immun. 1975 Feb;11(2):334–336. doi: 10.1128/iai.11.2.334-336.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Sack R. B., Gorbach S. L., Banwell J. G., Jacobs B., Chatterjee B. D., Mitra R. C. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli isolated from patients with severe cholera-like disease. J Infect Dis. 1971 Apr;123(4):378–385. doi: 10.1093/infdis/123.4.378. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Schoub B. D., Greeff A. S., Lecatsas G., Prozesky O. W., Hay I. T., Prinsloo J. G., Ballard R. C. A microbiological investigation of acute summer gastroenteritis in black South African infants. J Hyg (Lond) 1977 Jun;78(3):377–385. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400056278. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Sebodo T., Soenarto Y., Rohde J. E., Ryan N. J., Taylor B. J., Luke R. J., Bishop R. F., Barnes G. L., Holmes I. H., Ruck B. J. Aetiology of diarrhoea in children aged less than two years in central Java. Lancet. 1977 Feb 26;1(8009):490–491. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(77)91984-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Stintzing G., Tufvesson B., Habte D., Back E., Johnsson T., Wadstrom T. Aetiology of acute diarrhoeal disease in infancy and childhood, during the peak season Addis Ababa 1977: a preliminary report. Ethiop Med J. 1977 Oct;15(4):141–146. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Söderlind O., Möllby R. Studies on Escherichia coli in pigs V. Determination of enterotoxicity and frequency of O groups and K 88 antigen in strains from 200 piglets with neonatal diarrhoea. Zentralbl Veterinarmed B. 1978 Nov;25(9):719–728. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Tufvesson B., Johnsson T. Immunoelectroosmophoresis for detection of reo-like virus: methodology and comparison with electron microscopy. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand B. 1976 Aug;84(4):225–228. doi: 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1976.tb01929.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Tufvesson B., Johnsson T. Occurrence of reo-like calf viruses in young children with acute gastroenteritis. Diagnoses established by electron microscopy and complement fixation, using the reo-like virus as antigen. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand B. 1976 Feb;84(1):22–28. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Wadström T., Aust-Kettis A., Habte D., Holmgren J., Meeuwisse G., Möllby R., Söderlind O. Enterotoxin-producing bacteria and parasites in stools of Ethiopian children with diarrhoeal disease. Arch Dis Child. 1976 Nov;51(11):865–870. doi: 10.1136/adc.51.11.865. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Bulletin of the World Health Organization are provided here courtesy of World Health Organization

RESOURCES