Geographical diversity in seasonality of major diarrhoeal pathogens in Bangladesh observed between 2010 and 2012.

The study aimed to determine the geographical diversity in seasonality of major diarrhoeal pathogens among 21 138 patients enrolled between 2010 and 2012 in two urban and two rural sites in Bangladesh under the surveillance system of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b). Distinct patterns in seasonality were found for rotavirus diarrhoea which peaked in winter across the sites (December and January) and dipped during the rainy season (May) in urban Dhaka, August in Mirpur and July in Matlab, equated by time-series analysis using quasi-Poisson regression model. Significant seasonality for shigellosis was observed in Dhaka and rural Mirzapur. Cholera had robust seasonality in Dhaka and Matlab in the hot and rainy seasons. For enterotoxogenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) diarrhoea, clearly defined seasonality was observed in Dhaka (summer). Understanding the seasonality of such pathogens can improve case management with appropriate therapy, allowing policy-makers to identify periods of high disease burden.