Background and aims:
Children with acute gastroenteritis (AGE) commonly present to primary-care facilities and emergency departments. Etiological agents are viral, bacterial, or protozoan. The leading bacteria are Shigella, Salmonella and Campylobacter. As the epidemiology of these bacteria has evolved recently, we aimed to study trends over time.
Methods:
An epidemiological study (population-based, age-specific) of Shigella, Salmonella and Campylobacter infections in the Jerusalem district (JD).
Results:
During 1990-2015, 49,263 cases were notified in JD (overall incidence rate 237.3/100,000 annually). The incidence of Shigella (44.6% of cases), Salmonella (26.9%) and Campylobacter (28.5%) infections changed noticeably. Shigella (mostly S. sonnei) showed an endemic/epidemic pattern ranging between 19.7 and 252.8/100,000. Campylobacter (mostly C. jejunii) rates increased significantly from 15.0 to 134.6/100,000. Salmonella rates of 199.6/100,000 in 1995 gradually decreased to 34.7/100,000 (2014) with a rise in autumn 2015 (attributed to S. enteritidis while S. infantis led during the last 5 years).
Most AGE patients (70.7%) were aged
Conclusions:
Patterns of bacterial enteric infection change over time. Children
