Abstract
Gastroenteritis is one of the leading causes of illness and death in children under
five-years old, especially in developing countries. It is also one of the leading
causes of deaths among this population in Gaza strip. This study conducted to determine
the incidence of different enteric pathogens causing community gastroenteritis among
kindergarten children in Gaza. One hundred and fifty stool samples were collected
and investigated for parasitic, viral, and bacterial pathogens at Al Azhar microbiology
laboratories using standard microbiological and serological procedures. Out of the
150 study population, the overall percentage of positive stool samples with a known
enteric pathogen was 60.6%. The incidence of different enteric pathogens causing community
gastroenteritis in diarrhea cases was significantly higher than in controls (88.5%
versus 11.1%). The most prevalent enteric pathogens isolated were Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia (28%, 26.7% respectively). Rotavirus was found in 3.1% of cases but not detected
in controls; adenovirus types 40 and 41 were not detected. The bacterial enteric pathogens
Shigella and Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC) had similar rates as rotavirus (3.1%); no Salmonella was found. 7.4% of children had more than one pathogen detected. This study demonstrated
a high percentage of parasitic enteropathogens and a relatively low percentage of
bacterial and viral enteropathogens among kindergarten children. Children aged three
had the highest incidence of isolated enteropathogens.
Keywords
Community gastroenteritis - causative agents - kindergarten - Gaza
