Etiology of infantile enteritis in South Africa

Abstract

Infantile enteritis constitutes a major health problem in developing countries. Several investigations into the etiology of this condition among various South African populations have been undertaken during the past few years. Recent studies of black urban infants have revealed that salmonella, shigellae, enterotoxigenic Enterobacteriaceae, and rotaviruses play a relatively minor role in infantile enteritis. On the other hand, all studies, including a number performed several years ago, have demonstrated that Escherichia coli strains belonging to traditional enteropathogenic serotypes are more frquently recovered from patients with diarrhea than from matched control subjects. These bacteria ..