Abstract

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF CAMPYLOBACTER SPECIES IN OSUN STATES

Adekunle O.C*

ABSTRACT

The incidence of human Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli infections has increased markedly in many parts of the world in the last decade. This study was therefore conducted to investigate campylobacter as a bacterial agent of diarrhea in Osun State. Stool samples of eight hundred and fifteen (815) children ages between 1 and 36 months with diarrhea and one hundred (100) children age-matched controls without diarrhea were collected directly from their rectums and cultured using standard bacteriological methods. From the 815 subjects with diarrhea, 347 (42.6%) were females, 468 (57.4%) were males, 57 were positive for campylobacter species giving a prevalence of 7%. Thirty-six samples were positive for males while twenty-one samples were positive for females.

Keywords: Campylobacter, children, diarrheoa.