Examination of Diarrheic Stool Specimens Collected from Government Hospitals in the City of Manila for the Presence of Bacterial Pathogens and Parasites

Abstract

The prevalences of enteric bacteria and parasitic amebae from diarrheic stool samples collected from different government hospitals were determined by direct inoculation on Xylose Lysine Desoxychocolate Agar and Formalin Ethyl Acytate Concentration Technique. Of the 112 samples, Entamoeba histolytica!E. dispar was found to be 17.9% prevalent. Non- pathogenic amebae were identified such as Entamoeba coli (11.6%) and Endolimax nana (0.89%). Single infection of Entamoeba histolytica was found to be 47% prevalent in all the positive samples. Other helminths were also observed such as Ascaris sp. and hookworm. Low prevalence of the amebic and bacterial infection in diarrheic stools may be due to the fact that there are other factors that can cause diarrhea such as rotaviruses, food poisoning or food intolerance.