A two-year longitudinal study on the etiology of acute diarrhea in young children in Northern Italy.

During a 24-month period, 561 young children (6 months-2 years of age) hospitalized for acute diarrhea were studied for enteric pathogens. Patients positive for one or more pathogens were 359 (64.0%). Infection with one pathogen was found in 266 (47.4%) patients, whereas multiple infection was detected in 93 (16.6%) patients. Enteropathogens associated with disease were Rotaviruses: 150 (26.7%), Adenoviruses: 99 (17,6%), non-polio Enteroviruses: 48 (8.5%), Coronaviruses: 10 (1.8%), Parvoviruses: 5 (0.9%), Salmonella sp.: 41 (7.3%), Campylobacter fetus: 45 (8.0%), Giardia lamblia: 8 (1.4%), and "enteropathogenic" E. coli: 63 (11.2%) of which 15 (3%) produced heat labile enterotoxin. Seasonal occurrence of enteropathogens is also described.