PubMed · 1984 · 17 citations · 0 references
MedicineChild HealthInfectious DiseasesInfectious Disease EpidemiologyPediatric EpidemiologyPediatric Infectious DiseasesChild Health EpidemiologyGastrointestinal InfectionsInfant Infectious DiseasesInfectious DiarrheaPediatric Diarrheal DisordersPediatric Gastrointestinal DisordersAcute Infectious DiarrheaAnnual IncidenceBacterial Enteric DiseasesDiarrhea In InfantsEscherichia ColiPediatric GastroenteritisUrban SlumsVibrio Gastroenteritis
A longitudinal study was conducted to determine the profile of diarrheal diseases in a group of 383 children below 5 years of age in 2 typical slums of Calcutta (India). The overall annual incidence of diarrheal illness in these children during the 1st year of the study was found to be 1.1/child. However, the incidence was higher (1.9/child) in children below 2 years of age and declined progressively with advancing age. Most (99.5%) of the diarrheal episodes were mild in nature and not a single child required hospitalization; about 53.4% children had no diarrheal symptoms. Enteropathogens identified in diarrheal stool samples from 13.7% of children included enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (5.8%), rotaviruses (5.6%), shigellae (3.5%), Salmonella spp, (1.0%), Entamoebae histolytica (0.9%), Giardia lamblia (0.4%), Vibrio cholerae (0.6%), and V. parahemolyticus (0.3%).