Bacterial, viral and parasitic aetiology of paediatric diarrhoea in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

Enteropathogens and clinical features associated with diarrhoea were investigated in 1526 children admitted over a 5-year period to the paediatric ward of a hospital in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Overall, a recognized pathogen was isolated from 39 per cent of the children admitted with diarrhoea. The most commonly isolated agents were rotavirus (23 per cent), Shigella spp.

Multiple colonization of the upper respiratory tract of Papua New Guinea children with Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Nasal secretions from Papua New Guinea children were cultured using selective agents, to determine the prevalence of multiple colonization for both S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae.

The aetiology of purulent meningitis in highland children: a bacteriological study.

Of 155 highlands children with purulent culture-positive meningitis studied from March 1980 to September 1984, 84% were aged twelve months or less and 92% were infected with either Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae or both organisms. Other pathogens were Neisseria meningitidis (8 isolations), Streptococcus pyogenes (2 isolations) and Streptococcus agalactiae and Klebsiella species (1 of each). Among H.

Distribution and relationship to serotype of Haemophilus influenzae biotypes isolated from upper respiratory tracts of children and adults in Papua New Guinea.

The relationship between serotypes and biotypes of 505 carriage strains of Haemophilus influenzae isolated from the upper respiratory tracts of well children, children with pneumonia, and healthy adults was studied. All except serotype c were significantly associated with one or two specific biotypes (P less than 0.001).