The Journal of Medical Microbiology, Vol 11, Issue 2 137-143, Copyright © 1978 by Society for General Microbiology
Faecal flora of South Indian infants and young children in health and with acute gastroenteritis
M. J. Albert, P. Bhat, D. Rajan, P. P. Maiya, S. M. Pereira and S. J. Baker
The faecal flora of 29 healthy infants and young children was compared with
that of 49 children of similar age and socio-ecomonic status with acute
gastroenteritis. In the healthy children the most common organisms in the
faeces were bifidobacteria, veillonellae, enterobacteria and enterodocci
with anaerobes outnumbering aerobes. Most members of the noraml faecal
flora were present in the diarrhoeal stools, but anaerobes were
signigicantly reduced in number and enterobacteria were significantly
increased, thereby altering the ratio of anaerobes to aerobes. The
alterations in the flora were not related to the nature of the aetiological
agent or to the severity of the diarrhoea. The changes appeared to be a
direct result of the altered colonic environment produced by the diarrhoeal
state. In 13 of the 28 patients from whom bacterial pathogens were
isolated, the pathogens were the predominant faecal organsims.
