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Diarrhea in Young Children: Causes & Risks

Diarrhea is a major cause of death in young children in developing countries, contributing to about 3.2 million deaths per year. It is defined as three or more loose or watery stools in 24 hours. There are three main clinical types: acute watery diarrhea which causes dehydration, dysentery which causes damage to intestinal mucosa, and persistent diarrhea which causes malnutrition. Diarrhea spreads through the fecal-oral route or direct contact with feces. Risk factors include unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene practices, malnutrition, and breastfeeding behaviors. The most common causes of acute watery diarrhea in children are rotavirus, ETEC, Shigella, Campylobacter, V

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68 views18 pages

Diarrhea in Young Children: Causes & Risks

Diarrhea is a major cause of death in young children in developing countries, contributing to about 3.2 million deaths per year. It is defined as three or more loose or watery stools in 24 hours. There are three main clinical types: acute watery diarrhea which causes dehydration, dysentery which causes damage to intestinal mucosa, and persistent diarrhea which causes malnutrition. Diarrhea spreads through the fecal-oral route or direct contact with feces. Risk factors include unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene practices, malnutrition, and breastfeeding behaviors. The most common causes of acute watery diarrhea in children are rotavirus, ETEC, Shigella, Campylobacter, V

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prajwal
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Diarrhea:

Epidemiology & Etiology


Prod Dr Md Nazrul Islam
Head of the Department of Pediatrics
Mymensingh Medical College
The problem of diarrhea in
young children
 3-4 episodes / child / year
 3,200,000 deaths / year
 Causes about 12% of infant
deaths in developing countries
 Contributes to malnutrition
Diarrhoea: Definition

 It is defined as the passage of three


or more loose or watery stools in a
24- hr period, a loose stool being
one that would take the shape of a
container.
 Mothers may define diarrhea in
exclusively breast-fed young infants
as an increase in stool frequency or
liquidity that they consider abnormal.
Three clinical types of
diarrhea
Type Greatest danger

Acute watery Dehydration


Potassium loss
Dysentery Tissue damage
Toxemia
Persistent Malnutrition
Acute Watery Diarrhoea

 Begins acutely lasts less than


14 days, and involves the
passage of frequent loose or
watery stools without visible
blood.
 Causes dehydration
 Contribute to malnutrition
when food intake is reduced
Dysentery

 Diarrhoea with visible blood in


the faeces
 It causes anorexia, rapid wt loss
and damage to the intestinal
mucosa by the invasive bacteria
 Dehydration may occur if stools
are watery
Persistent diarrhea

 Begins acutely as watery


diarrhea or as dysentery but is
of unusually long duration (at
least 14 days)
 Marked weight loss is frequent;
diarrheal stool volume may also
be great, with a risk of
dehydration
Epidemiology of
Diarrhea
Transmission: Fecal-Oral

 By ingestion of fecally
contaminated water or food
 Direct person-to-person
transmission, and
 Direct contact with infected
feces
Risk factors for
developing diarrhea
Behavioral risk factors for
diarrhea
 Failure to breastfeed exclusively
for first 6 months of life
 Using feeding bottles
 Eating food hours after cooking
it
 Drinking contaminated water
 Not washing soiled hands
 Not disposing of feces safely
Host factors that affect incidence
or severity of diarrhea
 Failure to continue
breastfeeding until the child is at
least 2 years of age
 Malnutrition
 Current or recent measles
 Immunodeficiency or
Immunosuppression
Risk factors for persistent
diarrhea
 Age below 1 year
 Malnutrition
 Recent introduction of animal
milk
 Recent acute diarrhea
 Previous persistent diarrhea
Seasonality of diarrhea

 In tropical areas –
 Viral diarrheas → in cool dry
season
 Bacterial diarrheas → in hot wet
season
 In temperate areas –
 Viral diarrheas → in winter
 Bacterial diarrheas → in summer
Epidemics and Pandemics

 Most agents that cause diarrhea are


endemic in most developing
countries. These are responsible for
regular seasonal outbreaks.
 An epidemic or pandemic may occur
when a microbial mutant develops
against which persons are not
immune or when living conditions
change in ways that facilitate the
spread of infection.
Etiology of diarrhea
Causes of acute watery
diarrhea in children
 Rotavirus
 Enterotoxigenic E. coli
 Shigella
 Campylobacter jejuni
 Vibrio cholerae
 Cryptosporidium

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