Microbial agents in stools of infants and young children with and without acute diarrhoeal disease
Sanyal, S.C.; Sen, P.C.; Tiwari, I.C.; Bhatia, B.D.; Singh, S.J.
Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 80(1): 2-8
1977
ISSN/ISBN: 0022-5304 PMID: 321800 Document Number: 111909
In Varanasi, India, microbial agents were studied in the stools of 206 diarrhoeal and 138 non-diarrhoeal children up to 5 years of age. Bacteria, intestinal parasites and Candida albicans accounted for 50.9, 11.7 and 2.4%, respectively, of the cases of diarrhoea. However, parasites were almost 3 times more common in the non-diarrhoeal controls. Helminths were found in only 5 diarrhoeal but in 24 non-diarrhoeal cases. Ascaris lumbricoides was found in 14 of 138 non-diarrhoeal and in 2 of 206 diarrhoeal children. Parasites were considerably more common in the older children (aged 2 to 5 years) than in the infants.