Abstract:

Acute gastroenteritis outbreaks are the common health problem throughout the world especially in children. Every year, thousands of children die due to the diarrhea caused by bacteria, parasites and viral agents. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the rates of diarrheal agents in 0–5 years-old children’s stool samples in terms of seasons. METHODS: In this study, 216 stool samples were taken from 0–5 year-old children. These samples were examined with some tests for Rotaviruses, Adenoviruses, Salmonella, Shigella, Entamoeba, Giardia, Clostridium difficile Toxin A and Toxin B. Clostridium difficile toxins were detected by using ELISA (CerTest, Biotec, Spain). Immunochromatographic tests were used to detect the Rotavirus, Adenovirus, Giardia and Entamoeba antigens. Selenite-F broth and MacConkey Agar mediums were used to find lactose negative colonies for Salmonella and Shigella in stool samples. Confirmation was performed by IMVIC tests. RESULTS: The obtained results showed that the isolated agents were viral (40.74%), bacterial (24.98%) and parasitic (20.82%) respectively. Some agents showed a peak in the cold seasons such as Rotavirus (November, December, January and February). On the other hand, some outbreaks that came out by Salmonella and Shigella were seen most frequent in hot seasons (June, July, and August). CONCLUSION: According to the obtained data, diarrheal infections were mostly identified in February, March and April. Rotavirus infections are more frequent in winter and spring. In conclusion; we believe that analysis of viral antigens, bacteria and the parasites as diarrheal agents in stool sample is important in 0–5 years-old infants to prevent hospitalizations and unnecessary drug use.

Keywords: