Prevalence of pathogenic Escherichia coli and parasites in infants with diarrhoea in Kumasi, Ghana.

OBJECTIVES To determine the relative frequencies and prevalence rates of pathogenic Escherichia coli and intestinal parasites in hospitalised infants (0-5 years) in Kumasi. DESIGN A prospective descriptive study of screening 162 (83 males and 79 females) infants with diarrhoea and 122(64 males and 58 females) non-diarrhoeal infants controls for pathogens (E. coli and intestinal parasites) by standard microbiological methods. SETTING Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and Maternal and Child Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana. RESULTS From the 162 in the diarrhoeal group 96(59.6%) pathogens, and from the 122 in the control group, eight (6.6%) pathogens were isolated. Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) was the most frequently detected pathogen, accounting for 24(14.8%) of the findings in the diarrhoeal group, five (4.1%) in the non-diarrhoeal control group. Of the 26 EPEC isolates, there were nine serotypes with the three dominant ones being 0125 (6), 0119 (5), and 026 (15). Other agents isolated included Ascaris lumbricoides 18(11.1%) and two (1.6%), Cryptosporidium 13(8.0%) and one (0.8%) for diarrhoeal and non-diarrhoeal infants respectively. The following were detected only in diarrhoeal stools. Giardia lamblia, six (3.7%); Trichomonas hominis, three (1.9%); Trichuris trichiura one (0.6%) and hookworm, one (0.6%). CONCLUSION From this study, EPEC and Cryptosporidium may be considered as important diarrhoeagenic pathogens and it is hoped that provision of potable water and good sanitation may decrease diarrhoeas in infants caused by these agents.