Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli Subclinical Infection and Coinfections and Impaired Child Growth in the MAL-ED Cohort Study

ABSTRACTObjective:We evaluated the impact of subclinical enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) infection alone and in combination with other pathogens in the first 6 months of life on child growth.Methods:Nondiarrheal samples from 1684 children across 8 Multisite Birth Cohort Study, Malnutrition and Enteric Diseases (MAL-ED) sites in Asia, Africa, and Latin America were tested monthly; more than 90% of children were followed-up twice weekly for the first 6 months of life.Results:Children with subclinical EAEC infection did not show altered growth between enrollment and 6 months. Conversely, EAEC coinfection with any other pathogen was negatively associated with delta weight-for-length (Pā€Šā€Š0.05) z scores between 0 and 6 months. The presence of 2 or more pathogens without EAEC was not significantly associated with delta weight-for-length and weight-for-age. The most frequent EAEC coinfections included Campylobacter spp, heat-labile toxin-producing enterotoxigenic E coli, Cryptosporidium spp, and atypical enteropathogenic E coli. Myeloperoxidase levels were increased with EAEC coinfection (Pā€Š
Source: Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition - Category: Gastroenterology Tags: Original Articles: Nutrition Source Type: research