Conventionally, in Escherichia coli, phylogenetic groups A and B1 are associated with commensal strains while B2 and D are associated with extraintestinal strains. The aim of this study was to evaluate diarrheagenic (DEC) and commensal E. coli phylogeny and its association with antibiotic resistance and clinical characteristics of the diarrheal episode. Phylogenetic groups and antibiotic resist...

BACKGROUND The quantified effect of zinc supplementation to prevent childhood diarrhea and respiratory illnesses is unclear. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials on the subject. METHODS We searched PubMed, Science Citation Index, and the Cochrane Database of Controlled Trials and hand-searched the reference lists of identified articles. All randomized, controlled tria...

BACKGROUND Diarrhea is a frequent complication of hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT). Important causes of diarrhea after HSCT include acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), infections, and medications. After the transplantation and engraftment of hematopoietic stem cells from umbilical-cord blood, we observed a new syndrome of culture-negative, antibiotic-responsive diarrhea not at...

Foodborne bacterial diarrhea is an emerging health threat that is attributable to the increased consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits, the challenges associated with producing large quantities of inexpensive foods, the increasing importation of foods from developing regions, and the growing pattern of consumption of foods in public restaurants.1 Of the more than 5.2 million cases of bacter...

An 84-year-old woman with vascular dementia and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) placement 2 months prior presented with a fecal odor from the PEG tube and diarrhea at each feeding. No feces output from the PEG tube or peristomal leakage was noted. Computed tomography of the abdomen showed penetration of the PEG tube through the transverse colon to the stomach, without surrounding infl...

Zinc is an essential mineral and deficiency results in abnormal immune function and higher rates of infectious diseases. Randomized controlled trials of zinc supplementation have been conducted in children in developing countries to determine effects on infectious disease morbidity and mortality. Zinc-supplemented children have been found to have lower rates of diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria i...

Introduction Cryptosporidium is a genus of Apicomplexa phylum parasites that can cause a respiratory and gastrointestinal illness (cryptosporidiosis) that primarily involves watery diarrhea (intestinal cryptosporidiosis) with or without a persistent cough (respiratory cryptosporidiosis) in both immunocompetent and immunodeficient humans (1-3). A number of Cryptosporidium species infect mammals ...

Cryptosporidium parvum, a leading cause of persistent diarrhea in developing countries, is a major threat to the U.S. water supply. Able to infect with as few as 30 microscopic oocysts, Cryptosporidium is found in untreated surface water, as well as in swimming and wade pools, day-care centers, and hospitals. The organism can cause illnesses lasting longer than 1 to 2 weeks in previously health...