Diarrhea in children less than two years of age with known HIV status in Kisumu, Kenya.

Objective: To compare the frequency and etiology of diarrhea in children aged less than 2 years with known HIV status.

Methods: This was a nested cohort study, whereby children were followed during monthly routine and unscheduled visits. The HIV status of children was determined with PCR. A stool culture was obtained from children with diarrhea. A subset of stool samples was examined for parasites and tested for rotavirus.

Results: Between 1997 and 2001, 682 children (51.0% male) contributed observation periods with a mean of 47 weeks. Overall there were 198 episodes of diarrhea per 100 child-years of observation (CYO); diarrhea was more common among HIV-positive children than among HIV-negative children (321 vs. 183 episodes/100 CYO, respectively, p<0.01) and was not statistically different for HIV-negative children born to HIV-positive compared with HIV-negative mothers (182 vs. 187 episodes/100 CYO, respectively, p=0.36). For 66.5% of the acute episodes a stool culture was obtained; 27.8% of stool cultures yielded a bacterial pathogen. A positive stool culture was less likely among HIV-positive children compared to children of HIV-negative mothers (20.5% vs. 34.3%, p=0.01). Susceptibility of Salmonella and Shigella to commonly used antibiotics was low. Rotavirus was detected in 13.9% of 202 examined stool samples, and a stool parasite in 3.8% of 394 samples. Diarrhea was associated with 37.8% of child deaths.

Conclusions: Diarrhea was more common among HIV-infected children, but was not associated with specific bacterial pathogens. Measures that reduce diarrhea will benefit all children, but may benefit HIV-infected children in particular.