Prevalence of campylobacter enteritis in children under 5 years hospitalised for diarrhoea in two cities of Northeast India

Background: Campylobacter enteritis is the major cause of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. In recent years, there has been a rise in global incidence of campylobacteriosis. There are no available data on prevalence of Campylobacter diarrhoea from Northeast India. Materials and Methods: The study investigated archival stool samples collected between 2014 and 2016 from two hospitals of Northeast India. A total of 407 archival stool samples from cases of diarrhoea under 5 years of age were screened for Campylobacter spp. using commercial probe-based real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. Results: Campylobacter spp. was detected in overall 10.1% (41/407; 95% confidence interval: 7.4%-13.3%) in children under 5 years hospitalised for diarrhoea. The prevalence was significantly higher from Dibrugarh, Assam, compared to Dimapur, i.e., 13.4% (27/201) versus 6.8% (14/206), respectively (P = 0.02). Campylobacter detection was highest in the month of June and July compared to December and January (20%-18.8% vs. 8.9%-6.2%, respectively). Further, Campylobacter infection was higher in the age group below 24 months (11.7%) compared to above 24 months (7.0%). Campylobacter jejuni was detected in 80.5% of the positive cases. Conclusion: The present study reveals that Campylobacter infection is endemic in the studied regions of Northeast India and microbiological laboratories of the region should actively pursue the isolation or detection of Campylobacter spp. in cases of diarrhoea in routine stool cultures.