Campylobacter jejuni gastroenteritis in children in Basrah- Iraq

Abstract EN

A prospective study was conducted on 202 patients (122 males and 80 females), who were admitted to Basrah Maternity and Child Hospital, for the management of diarrhoea during the period from the first of July 2000 till the end of March 2001, their ages ranged from 43 days-11 years.

Campylobacter jejuni was detected in (13.86 %) of all cases presented with diarrhoea, and in (31.03 %) of cases presented with bloody diarrhea.

It was found that Campylobacte rjejuni v / as the second most common bacterial isolate in children with diarrhoea, and the second most common cause of bloody diarrhoea.

The frequency of Campylobacter jejuni infection was higher in children below 4 years of age and in males more than females.

However, these differences were statistically not significant (P-value > 0.05).

In addition to diarrhoea, the disease was most commonly associated with fever exceeding 38C in (82.14 %), followed by vomiting (46.42 %) and abdominal pain (10.71 %).

All Patients infected with Campylobacter jejuni presented with no dehydration (46.44 %), or some dehydration (53.57 %), (None presented with severe dehydration).

Residence, nutritional status, water supply and type of feeding do not have significant effects on the frequency of the disease (P value > 0.05).

However, it was found that chickens ownership was significantly associated with Campylobacter enteritis (P-value < 0.01).