Campylobacter and Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) Associated Gastroenteritis in Turkish Children

From May 1989 to April 1990, stool specimens of 677 children less than 15-years old who were admitted to the Hacettepe University outpatient department of Pediatrics with acute enteritis were collected to search for four common enteric pathogens: Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC). At least one of the three bacteria was detected in 107 (15.8%) of the patients. Campylobacter was found in 72 (10.6%) of the samples. Shigella and Salmonella spp. were isolated in 26 (3.8%) and 11 (1.6%) children respectively. EHEC was not isolated from any of the stool samples. None of the 100 healthy children examined as a control group yielded any of the four pathogens in their stools. Campylobacter should be considered as an important aetiological agent of diarrhoeal diseases in Turkey, where EHEC is not a common pathogen.