Causes of acute gastroenteritis in Korean children between 2004 and 2019

Abstract

Since the 2000s, the major causes of acute gastroenteritis in children in Korea have been identified by classifying the pathogens into viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. For viruses, the detection rate is 20%-30%, and norovirus is being increasingly detected to account for the majority of viral gastroenteritis cases. In addition, despite the dissemination of the rotavirus vaccine, many rotavirus infections persist, and its seasonal distribution is changing. The detection rate of bacterial pathogens is 3%- 20%, with Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. infections being the most common, while the incidences of Bacillus cereus and Campylobacter spp. infections are gradually increasing. Owing to intermittent outbreaks of gastroenteritis caused by individual bacteria as well as the inflow of causative bacteria, such as E. coli, Vibrio spp., and Campylobacter spp., from overseas, continuous surveillance of and research into the characteristics and serotypes of each bacterium are needed.

Keywords: Child; Gastroenteritis; Republic of Korea.

Fig. 1.

Distribution and detection rate of viral pathogens in South Korean children (≤5 years of age) from 2005 to 2019 from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Preventiona). ^a)The total number of samples varied due to fluctuations in the number of medical institutions (70–192) participating in the monitoring project. ^b)Sapovirus was not investigated in 2009–2018. ^c)Enteric adenovirus includes all genotypes that cause gastrointestinal diseases, including type F [40,41].

Fig. 2.

Causative bacterial pathogens of acute gastroenteritis cases from 2007 to 2019 from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Preventiona). ^a)In 2015, Shigella spp., Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Yersinia enterocolitica caused fewer than 1% of cases. The pathogen separation rate varied due to changes in the total number of health care institutions participating in the monitoring project (70–192), especially since 2014 due to fewer medical institutions participating in the monitoring project (68–105).

Fig. 3.

Number and proportion of protozoan infections in cases of acute gastroenteritis recorded from 2004 to 2018 from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Detected Entamoeba histolytica cases were excluded in 2009. Cyclospora cayetanensis cases were included among the enteric protozoa detected in 2013.

Fig. 4.

Distribution of bacterial pathogens isolated from patients with foreign traveler's diarrhea in 2012–2013 from the Korea National Airport Quarantine Station.