The aetiology of diarrhoea in newborn infants

Diarrhoea is a common problem in newborn infants in hospital nurseries. In the past, sporadic diarrhoea was often attributed to dietary indiscretion by the mother, and epidemic diarrhoea was though to be caused by an unknown infectious agent. Techniques with which to locate non-cultivable viruses and untypable enteropathogenic strains of Escherichia coli allow reevaluation of the aetiology of diarrhoea in newborn infants. Preliminary results from Melbourne, Australia, suggest that most diarrhoea in newborn infants is induced by a specific infectious agent. During 1975 the agent most often identified from sporadic and epidemic diarrhoea in hospital nurseries was a reovirus-like particle ("duovirus"). Enterotoxin-producing strains of E. coli were rarely isolated. Future attempts to protect newborn infants from developing diarrhoea must be based on an accurate understanding of the aetiology of this disease.