BACTERIAL DIARRHOEA: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
AbstractInfective diarrhoea is a common cause of malnutrition in children <5 years of age. The aetiological agents may be bacteria, viruses or parasites. The bacterial agents cause diarrhoea by either secretion of toxins which act on the small intestine to cause outpouring of fluids into the lumen as seen in Vibrio cholerae, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus or by damaging mucosa resulting in dysentery like that seen in infection with Shigella, non-typhoidal Salmonellae, Vibrio parahemolyticus, Clostridium difficile and Campylobacter. This article summarizes the common bacterial etiological agents, clinical presentation of illness caused the laboratory diagnosis and antibiotic susceptibility testing of these pathogens.
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