Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2020 Mar 2:148:e64.
doi: 10.1017/S0950268820000618.

Enteric pathogens associated with gastroenteritis among children under 5 years in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

T B Oppong  1 , H Yang  1 , C Amponsem-Boateng  1 , E K D Kyere  1 , T Abdulai  1 , G Duan  1 , G Opolot  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Enteric pathogens associated with gastroenteritis among children under 5 years in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

T B Oppong et al. Epidemiol Infect. .

Abstract

Gastroenteritis remains a serious health condition among children under 5 years especially in Africa. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the aetiologic pathogens of gastroenteritis in the region. We did a systematic search for articles with original data on the aetiology of gastroenteritis and acute diarrhoea among children younger than 5 years. Pooled results were extracted and analysed in STATA version 12.0 using random-effects for statistical test for homogeneity following the guidelines provided in the Cochrane Collaboration and Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Overall, viruses accounted for 50.2% of the cases followed by bacteria with 31.6% of the cases. Parasites accounted for 12.1% of the case. Rotavirus was the most common cause of acute diarrhoea in all regions resulting in 29.2% of the cases followed by E. coli (15.6%) of diarrhoeal cases and Adenovirus (10.8%). The most prevalent parasite detected was Giardia lamblia (7.3%). Acute diarrhoea remains rampant with Rotavirus still being the major pathogen responsible for the disease in children less than 5 years old despite the introduction of vaccine. It is recommended that the vaccine should be promoted much more widely in the region.

Keywords: Diarrhoea in children; diarrhoea; diarrhoeal enteric pathogens; gastroenteritis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Flow chart of study selection and criteria.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Pooled estimates of Rotavirus stratified by region.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Pooled estimates of E. coli stratified by region.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Pooled estimates of Giardia lamblia stratified by region.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Vasco G et al. (2014) Identifying etiological agents causing diarrhea in low income Ecuadorian communities. American Journal of Tropical. Medicine and Hygiene 91, 563–569. - PMC - PubMed
    1. C. GBD 2016 Diarrhoeal Disease Collaborators et al. (2018) Estimates of the global, regional, and national morbidity, mortality, and aetiologies of diarrhoea in 195 countries: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2016. Lancet Infectious Disease 18, 1211–1228. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Adadey SM and Quaye O (2017) The burden of gastroenteritis in the post-Rotavirus vaccine era in Ghana: a hospital diagnoses-based study. International Journal of Medical. Research and Health Sciences 6, 45–49.
    1. Chow CM, Leung AK and Hon KL (2010) Acute gastroenteritis: from guidelines to real life. Clinical and Experimental Gastroenterology 3, 97–112. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Webb A and Starr M (2005) Acute gastroenteritis in children. Australian Family Physician 34, 227–231. - PubMed

MeSH terms