[Enterobacteria of the genera Salmonella, Shigella and Yersinia with an etiological role in acute diarrheal disease].

In a study made during 5 years, from 1990 to 1994 on 8363 subjects with acute diarrhoea disease, we found 486 cases (5,81%) in which the etiologic agent was belonging to a species of enterobacteria; as follows: Shigella (69,13%), Salmonella (27,78%) and Yersinia enterocolitica (3,08%), and which were isolated predominantly in children with ages ranging from 6 months to 7 years. The serogroups of Shigella most often isolated were Shigella sonnei, in 196 patients (35,11%). Regarding the cases with Salmonella, in most of the cases Salmonella enteritidis was isolated (60,74%) followed by Salmonella typhimurium and other Salmonellae from the serogroup BO (23,70%). In the last 2 years (1993 and 1994), in 12 cases Yersinia enterocolitica was isolated; together with Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium, they could cause infections associated with consume of infected food.