[Prevalence of enteropathogens in children with liquid diarrhea].

Between january 1 and october 31, 1991 148 samples of feces corresponding to the same number of children with acute diarrhea, aged 0-2 years, admitted to Hospital O'Horan of the Secretariat of Health in the city of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, were studied. Stools from 105 (70.9%) patients were described as watery diarrhea; from these samples at least one enteric pathogen was detected in 49 (46.6%): a single pathogen was isolated in 37 (35.2%), and mixed infections were observed in 12 (11.4%). We isolated enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in 18 (17.1%) samples; a predominance of strains producing only ST (11.4%) was observed. Rotavirus was detected in 14.3%, Shigella spp in 8.6%, Salmonella spp in 5.7%, Giardia lamblia in 4.8%, Campylobacter jejuni in 3.8%, enteroinvasive E. coli in 2.8%, Entamoeba histolytica in 2.8% and adenovirus in 1.9%. From watery samples, 80 (76.2%) were negative for fecal blood, and these were most frequently associated with enterotoxigenic E. coli (17.5%) and rotavirus (12.5%). E. coli LT+ and rotavirus association was observed in two patients, and E. coli ST+ and adenovirus association was observed in another one.