A comparison of the prevalence of campylobacter, Shigellae and Salmonellae in faeces of malnourished and well nourished children in The Gambia and Northern Nigeria.

The proportion of children in whom bacterial pathogens were isolated in faeces was compared in 59 malnourished and 59 age-matched well nourished children in Fajara, The Gambia, with 38 malnourished and 38 age-matched well nourished children in Malumfashi, Northern Nigeria. Campylobacters were identified more frequently in malnourished (10.2%) and well nourished (6.8%) children in The Gambia than in malnourished (2.6%) and well nourished (2.6%) children in Nigeria. Salmonellae were more frequently isolated in the malnourished Nigerian children (28.9%) than in the malnourished Gambian children (3.4%) and were present in similar proportions (5.1% and 5.3%) in well nourished children in both communities. Shigellae were isolated in a few individuals in each group. The differences in the epidemiology of these enteropathogens are discussed with respect to the differences in ecology between these two sub-Saharan, savanna communities.