Stool Survey of Asymptomatic Diapered Children in Day Care

A survey of diaper-wearing children in community-day-care centers was conducted by the San Diego Department of Health Services during the period February-April 1986 to determine the presence of enteric pathogens in asymptomatic children. Written consent to collect stool samples from diapers was obtained from parents of children at four preschools. No reportable enteric diseases or outbreaks had occurred at the schools in the preceding year. For each child, the preschool teachers maintained a record of symptoms (eg, diarrhea, fever) during the week of stool collection. Stool specimens were collected from 63 diapered children. The samples were examined for parasites and cultured for bacteria and viruses. Giardia lamblia was identified in 18% to 32% of stool samples collected from children at three of the four centers. Prevalence of Giardia varied with the age of the child (0% age