The etiology of diarrhoea studied in the community in young urban Gambian children.

In a community-based longitudinal study of 126 urban Gambian children from birth to 2 years bacterial and/or viral pathogens were identified significantly more often in diarrheal episodes studied (27.5%) than during control periods (19.0%) (p0.001). Rotavirus and ST-toxigenic Escherichia coli emerged as the most frequently-occurring pathogens in symptomatic children. Campylobacter species accounting for nearly 1/3 of all pathogens isolated occurred more frequently during control periods as did Salmonella species. Shigellosis may have been underdiagnosed. Even so the cause of diarrhea during the 1st 1/2 of infancy was largely unresolved with approximately 90% of cases studied being unexplained a similar figure emerging for all attacks studied during the spring-time 1/4 of the year. We remain notably ignorant of the cause of most unselected cases of childhood diarrhea in the community in West Africa. (authors modified)