Potgieter, NatashaHeine, LeeNgandu, Jean Pierre KabueLedwaba, Solanka EllenZitha, TinyikoMudau, Lutendo SylviaBecker, Piet J.Traore, Afsatou NdamaBarnard, Tobias George2024-09-102024-09-102023-02-14Potgieter, N.; Heine, L.; Ngandu, J.P.K.; Ledwaba, S.E.; Zitha, T.; Mudau, L.S.; Becker, P.; Traore, A.N.; Barnard, T.G. High Burden of Co-Infection with Multiple Enteric Pathogens in Children Suffering with Diarrhoea from Rural and Peri-Urban Communities in South Africa. Pathogens 2023, 12, 315. https://DOI.org/10.3390/pathogens12020315.2076-0817 (online)10.3390/pathogens12020315http://hdl.handle.net/2263/98103DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to protection of patients.Infectious diarrhoea contributes to high morbidity and mortality in young children from sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of single and multiple diarrhoeal-causing pathogen combinations in children suffering from diarrhoea from rural and peri-urban communities in South Africa. A total of 275 diarrhoea stool specimens were collected between 2014 and 2016 from Hospitals and Primary Health Care clinics. The BioFire® FilmArray® Gastrointestinal panel was used to simultaneously detect 22 diarrhoea pathogens (viruses, bacteria, parasites) known to cause diarrhoea. A total of 82% (226/275) enteric pathogens were detected in the stool specimens. The two most detected bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens each included: EAEC (42%), EPEC (32%), Adenovirus F40/41 (19%), Norovirus (15%), Giardia (8%) and Cryptosporidium (6%), respectively. Single enteric pathogen infections were recorded in 24% (65/275) specimens with EAEC, and Norovirus was found in 26% (17/65) and 14% (9/65) of the specimens, respectively. Multiple enteric pathogen combinations were recorded in 59% (161/275) of the stool specimens with 53% (85/161) containing two pathogens, 22% (35/161) containing three pathogens and 25% (41/161) containing four or more pathogens. The results from this study demonstrated the complex nature of pathogen co-infections in diarrhoeal episodes which could have an impact on treatment effectiveness.en© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.DiarrhoeaInfectiousPathogensPaediatric patientsStool specimensSouth Africa (SA)SDG-03: Good health and well-beingArticle