40. Sallon, S., El Shawwa, R., Khalil, M., Ginsburg, O., El Tayib, J., El-Eila, J., Green, V., and Hart, C. A. Diarrheal Disease in Children in Gaza. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 1994; 88,2: 175-182.

This article presents a report on a 1-year prospective study of diarrheal disease in children under 5 who attended the Nasser Children’s Hospital in Gaza during 1990. Major pathogens identified were Salmonella spp., Cryptosporidium, Campylobacter and rotavirus. However, comparison with the control group reveals that only Cryptosporidium and rotavirus were significantly associated with diarrhea. Significantly, more children with Cryptosporidium were malnourished. This pathogen was found in 38% of children who died with diarrhea during the study. The study indicates that a high risk of cryprosporidiosis was associated with overcrowding, while breast-feeding was associated with some protection.