[Epidemiology and clinical aspects of Campylobacter enteritis in childhood].

Stool specimens of 478 children with enteritic symptoms were screened for enteropathogenic bacteria over a 5-month period. 28 cases of infection due to Campylobacter jejuni were found. The incidence of Campylobacter enteritis exceeded that of salmonella and shigella infections recorded over the same period (17 and 11 cases, respectively). Infected children-aged between 2 months and 15 1/2 years-presented with symptoms of mild gastroenteritis. 18 patients had bloody diarrhoea, whilst 4 children aged between 4 and 9 years with abdominal pain showed a clinical picture mimicking acute appendicitis. Two severely dehydrated infants required parenteral fluids, but in the remaining cases dietetic treatment alone proved satisfactory.