Acute otitis media during the first two years of life in a rural community in Bangladesh: a prospective cohort study.

The study investigated the burden of acute otitis media (AOM) during the first two years of life in a cohort of 252 newborns in rural Bangladesh using data collected on occurrences of AOM. Trained community health workers (CHWs) conducted household surveillance and picked up cases of AOM using the study algorithm. The incidence rate was 0.9 episodes per child-year observed. Forty-six percent (n=115) of the 252 subjects developed AOM: 36% (n=91) during the first year of life and 10% (n=24) during the second year of life (p<0.001). The age-specific incidence rates of AOM varied; peaks occurred in the 6-12-month age-group and the lowest in the first three months of life. In total, 20% (n=49) of the study subjects had single, 26% (n=66) recurrent, and 54% (n=137) no episode of AOM. Perforation with discharge developed in 85% (n=322) of 375 episodes. The duration of discharge from the ears was < or =6 weeks in 95% of the episodes, but in 5% of the episodes, discharge from the ears continued for >6 weeks. The incidence of AOM was higher in the monsoon season compared to the summer season (p<0.003). The study documented AOM as an important cause of morbidity among rural children up to two years of age in Bangladesh and should be addressed with strategies to overcome the burden of disease.

Aetiology of diarrhoea in a birth cohort of children aged 0-2 year(s) in rural Mirzapur, Bangladesh.

The incidence of aetiology-specific diarrhoea and the pathogenicity of infectious agents in a birth cohort (n=252) in rural Bangladesh were determined. Stool specimens or rectal swabs were collected from diarrhoeal cases over two years and routinely on a monthly basis. Stool samples from children with diarrhoea were compared with stool samples from children without diarrhoea to calculate rates of isolation and pathogenicity of agents. In total, 1750 stool specimens from diarrhoea patients and 5679 stool specimens from children without diarrhoea were tested. An infectious agent was identified in 58% of the stool specimens from diarrhoea patients and 21.6% of the stool specimens from children without diarrhoea. The most commonly-isolated pathogens from all specimens were enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), enteroadherent E. coli, Shigella, Campylobacter jejuni, Giardia, and rotavirus. ETEC (ST and LT-ST toxin), enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis, Shigella, and rotavirus were associated more with disease than with asymptomatic infections. Aetiology-specific infections were associated with acute episodes. The isolated enteropathogens were essentially the same as those found in other tropical rural settings. Enterotoxigenic B. fragilis was also identified as a pathogen. Ongoing vaccine efforts focusing on Shigella, rotavirus, and ETEC would be useful.