TY - JOUR AU - Hassan, Khaled E AU - Mansour, Adel AU - Shaheen, Hind AU - Amine, Mohamed AU - Riddle, Mark S AU - Young, Sylvia YN AU - Sebeny, Peter AU - Levin, Samuel PY - 2014/12/15 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - The impact of household hygiene on the risk of bacterial diarrhea among Egyptian children in rural areas, 2004–2007 JF - The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries JA - J Infect Dev Ctries VL - 8 IS - 12 SE - Original Articles DO - 10.3855/jidc.4539 UR - https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/25500652 SP - 1541-1551 AB - <p class="SmallText">Introduction: The present study, conducted between January 2004 and April 2007, explored the impact of household hygiene on the risk of bacterial diarrhea, using data from a prospective birth cohort of 348 infants in five villages in the Nile Delta in Egypt.</p> <p class="SmallText">Methodology: Neonates were enrolled at birth and followed up until 24 months of age.<strong><em> </em></strong>Children were visited twice a week to survey them for acute diarrhea. A detailed observational household hygiene survey was completed in-house every six months. Adjusted relative risk (aRR) of developing bacterial diarrhea was calculated for exposure to different hygiene variables and examined for specific bacterial pathogens.</p> <p class="SmallText">Results: Exclusive breastfeeding reduced the risk of bacterial diarrhea by 70%, while bacterial diarrhea cases were 2.6 times higher in the warm season. Risk of <em>Campylobacter</em> diarrhea increased with the absence of barriers to keep birds and animals out of the eating area, the presence of garbage containers and a bathing facility within the compound, and the presence of feces on the floor of the bathing facility. Use of municipal water for drinking and cooking was associated with a lower risk of <em>Campylobacter</em> diarrhea. Risk of enterotoxigenic <em>Escherichia coli</em> diarrhea increased with uncovered garbage containers and the presence of liquid materials in the garbage containers, but decreased with the use of tap water<strong> </strong>in the washing facility.</p> <p class="SmallText">Conclusion: The results highlight some potential targets for interventions, such as expanding municipal water supply to all houses and comprehensive mass-media awareness programs to change hygiene-promoting behaviors and practices.</p> ER -