Microbial quality of water in rural communities of Trinidad

A cross-sectional study was conducted in four rural communities of northeastern Trinidad to determine the microbial quality of water supply to households and that quality's relationship to source and storage device. Of the 167 household water samples tested, total coliforms were detected in 132 of the samples (79.0 por cent), fecal coliforms in 102 (61.1 por cent), and E. coli in 111 (66.5 por cent). There were significant differences among the towns in the proportion of the samples contaminated with coliforms (P 0.001) and E. coli (P 0.001). Of 253 strains of E. coli studied, 4 (1.6 por cent) were mucoid, 9 (3.6 por cent) were hemolytic, and 37 (14.6 por cent) were nonsorbitol fermenters. Of 69 isolates of E. coli tested, 10 (14.5 por cent) were verocytotoxigenic. Twenty-eight (14.0 por cent) of 200 E. coli isolates tested belonged to enteropathogenic serogroups. Standpipe, the most common water source, was utilized by 57 (34.1 por cent) of the 167 households. Treated water (pipeborne in homes, tandpipes, or truckborne) was supplied to 119 households (71.3 por cent), while 48 households (28.7 por cent) used water from untreated sources (rain, river/stream, or well) as their primary water supply. The type of household storage device was associated with coliform contamination. Water stored in drums, barrels, or buckets was more likely to harbor fecal coliforms (74.2 por cent of samples) htan was water stored in tanks (53.3 por cent of samples), even after controlling for water source (P = 0.04). Compared with water from other sources, water piped into homes was significantly less likely to be contaminated with total coliforms (56.9 por cent) versus 88.8 por cent, P0.001) and fecal coliforms (41.2 por cent versus 69.8 por cent, P0.01), even when the type of storage device was taken into account. However, fecal contamination was not associated with whether the water came from a treated or untreated source. We concluded that the drinking water in rural communities in Trinidad was grossly unfit for human consumption, due both to contamination of vaious water sources and during household water storage

La patogénesis de las enfermedades diarreicas agudas en los primeros años de vida / The pathogenesis of acute diarrheal disease in early life

In the City of Guatemala, diarrheal diseases are the principal cause of infant mortality. In order to clarify the pathogenesis of this type of malady, clinical and bacteriological investigations as well as autopsies were made on 63 consecutive deaths among hospitalized children. Fifty children had diarrheal disease and 35 of these showed advanced malnutrition. There was no evidence that the disease was attributable to a specific infectious agent, and only in 23 cases were bacterial pathogens present. In children who suffered at the same time from diarrheal disease and malnutrition, a non-ulcerous inflammatory response was noted in the jejunal mucosa, accompanied by a sharp local increase in the bacterial population. The author suggests that malnutrition in children may favor high bacterial populations in the jejunum and that their presence may be the cause of the non-ulcerative inflammatory reaction and the appearance of the symptoms of diarrheal disease. As therapeutic measures the use of antibiotics and rehydration to compensate for loss of liquids are recommended in the short run, and improvement of the nutritional state of patients in the long run

Prevalencia de bacterias enteropatógenas en Costa Rica / Prevalence of enteropathogenic bacteria in Costa Rica

In a study made of the bacterial etiology of diarrheal cases in Costa Rica, pathogenic strains of E. coli were rarely found but Shigella were found in the same proportion as in the other areas of Latin America. Salmonella occurred frequently in urban centers. Concomitant examination in children of similar age group but without diarrhea suggested that enteropathogenic. E. coli was an important cause of the intestinal symptoms; Shigella prevalence, although it increases with increasing age, loses importance as the cause of symptoms; and in the urban centers Salmonella was important as the cause of symptoms only among children under six months of age(AU)