Burden of Aeromonas Hydrophila Associated Diarrhea among Children Younger than 2 Years in Rural Egyptian Community

Introduction: Between 2004 and 2007; a birth cohort of Egyptian children was analysed to evaluate the epidemiology of enteric diseases. Methodology: A stool sample was collected from the study children every two weeks as well as whenever they experienced diarrhea. Samples were tested for routine bacterial pathogens as well as enteropathogenic viruses and parasites. A secondary goal of the study was to evaluate the burden of less commonly reported pathogens including Aeromonas hydrophila. Results: Of the 348 study subjects; 79 had A. hydrophila isolated from their stool at some point during the study. Thirty-six children had exclusively symptomatic (S) infections while 33 had exclusively asymptomatic (AS) infections. However; 10 children had both S and AS infections. Among symptomatic cases; A. hydrophila was the sole pathogen isolated 36of the time. An important aspect of A. hydrophila associated diarrhea was the high level of resistance to cephalosporins. Conclusion: Although relatively uncommon; A. hydrophila was found to be associated with diarrhea among children living in Egypt and was frequently multi-drug resistant

An investigation of diarrhoeal disease outbreak at Bilate Military Training Centre

This study was conducted to investigate a reported disease outbreak among higher education student recruits in Bilate Military Centre; Sidamo Administrative Region. Out of the total patients of 5;245 who visited at the out-patient department 1;616 (30.1 per cent) were patients with diarrhoea. There were 99 patients admitted to the hospital out of which 27 (27.2 per cent) were diarrhoeal patients. There were no deaths reported. A total of 965 (75.6 per cent) were treated with antimicrobial; mainly Tetracyclines; Chloramphenicol; Metronidazole and Chloroquine. Only 114 (8.9 per cent) were treated with Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) while 86 (7.11 per cent) with Anti-diarrhoeal (Charcoal) and ORS. There was no proper excreta disposal and the water source was found to be bacteriologically non-potable. Among the 34 stool specimens collected for culture and sensitivity tests; the genus Shigella was isolated in 6 patients; where 4 were Shigella flexneri (Group B) and 2 were Shigella dysenteriae (Group A) one type 1 (Shiga's Bacillus) and the other type 2 (Schmitz's Bacillus). Shigella dysenteriae serogroups 1 and 2 showed resistance to eight and seven drugs including Trimethoprim Sulpha-Methoxazole (TSM) respectively. This study highlights the importance of safe water and improvement of general hygiene and environmental sanitation for prevention and control of epidemics and indicates the importance of continuous surveillance of drug resistant Shigella for the control of outbreaks of Shigellosis