Globally, one in ten child deaths during the first five years of life result from diarrhoeal disease. Due to limitations in diagnostic facilities in resource-constrained clinical settings, the aetiological agent of diarrhoeal disease is rarely laboratory confirmed. In the past years, clinical studies on diarrheal diseases in developing countries have shed more light on the predominating causes of infection. Campylobacter spp., Shigella spp., and diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica have been among the most common pathogens isolated from patients with diarrhoea. So far, studies on Arcobacter spp. are limited. Arcobacter spp. is an emerging pathogen with its role in diarrhoeal disease not well understood. In the past years, moderate associations with diarrhoea have been demonstrated for Shigella spp., Campylobacter spp. and diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli but the associations on bacterial sub-type level have not been studied thoroughly. Data on sub-type specific burden of diarrhoea and antibiotic resistance is needed in order to identify populations at risk, to develop preventive measures and to adjust antibiotic usage when treatment is indicated.

Within this study we investigate and compare bacterial subtypes of children below 5 years of age and the association with diarrhoea in a rural hospital in Tanzania.

Partners:

National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in Tanga, Tanzania

Korogwe District hospital, Korogwe, Tanzania

Funding:

German Center for Infection Research (DZIF)