Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Oct;35(10):1691-700.
doi: 10.1007/s10096-016-2714-9. Epub 2016 Jul 2.

Potential causative agents of acute gastroenteritis in households with preschool children: prevalence, risk factors, clinical relevance and household transmission

M Heusinkveld  1 , L Mughini-Gras  2   3 , R Pijnacker  4 , H Vennema  4 , R Scholts  5 , K W van Huisstede-Vlaanderen  5 , T Kortbeek  4 , M Kooistra-Smid  5   6 , W van Pelt  4
Affiliations

Potential causative agents of acute gastroenteritis in households with preschool children: prevalence, risk factors, clinical relevance and household transmission

M Heusinkveld et al. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2016 Oct.

Abstract

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) morbidity remains high amongst preschool children, posing a significant societal burden. Empirical data on AGE-causing agents is needed to gauge their clinical relevance and identify agent-specific targets for control. We assessed the prevalence, risk factors and association with symptoms for enteropathogens in households with preschool children. A monthly-repeated cross-sectional survey of enteropathogens in households with preschool children was performed. A parent-child pair per household (n = 907 households) provided faecal samples and reported their symptoms and potential risk exposures. Samples were tested by multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for 19 enteropathogens. Associations were assessed using logistic regression. 28.3 % of children (n = 981) and 15.6 % of parents (n = 971) carried pathogenic bacteria and/or Escherichia coli-associated pathogenicity genes, and 6.5 % and 3.3 % carried viruses, respectively. Giardia lamblia (4.6 % of children, 2.5 % of parents) and Dientamoeba fragilis (36 %, 39 %, respectively) were the main parasites, and were associated with pet exposure. Living in rural areas was associated with carriage of pathogenic E. coli, norovirus I and D. fragilis. Pathogenic E. coli was associated with summertime and livestock exposure. Attending day-care centres increased the risk of carrying norovirus, sapovirus and G. lamblia. Viruses occurred mainly in winter and were associated with AGE symptoms. Child-parent associations were found for bacterial pathogenicity genes, viruses, G. lamblia and D. fragilis. Enteropathogens spread widely in households with preschool children, particularly viruses, which more often cause symptoms. While bacteria predominate during summer and in those exposed to livestock, viruses predominate in wintertime and, like G. lamblia, are widespread amongst day-care centre attendees.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Epidemiol Infect. 2015 Oct;143(13):2707-20 - PubMed
    1. Epidemiol Infect. 2008 Jul;136(7):886-94 - PubMed
    1. Microbiol Spectr. 2014 Oct;2(5):null - PubMed
    1. Lancet. 2015 Jan 10;385(9963):117-71 - PubMed
    1. Epidemiol Infect. 2012 Jul;140(7):1185-92 - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources