Microbial Contamination of the Gut; another Feature of Malnutrition

Michael Gracey (Gastroenterological Research, Unit, Princess Margaret Children's Medical Research Foundation, Perth, Western Australia.)
Suharjono Suharjono (Department of Child Health, Medical School, University of Indonesia, Jakarta.)
Sunoto Sunoto (Department of Child Health, Medical School, University of Indonesia, Jakarta.)
Delys E. Stone (Gastroenterological Research, Unit, Princess Margaret Children's Medical Research Foundation, Perth, Western Australia.)

Paediatrica Indonesiana
Vol 15 No 7-8 (1975): July - August 1975

The microbial flora of the stomach and upper small intestine was studied in 21 malnourished Indonesian children with diarrhoea and compared with that found in 21 Australian children of Caucasian extraction with a variety of alimentary disorders. In the Indonesian children there was marked microbial contamination of the upper gastrointestinal tract with a wide variety of microorganisms. In several patients there was significant overgrowth by Candida sp. and in several others large numbers of anaerobic bacteria were isolated. It is suggested that these microbiological abnormalities are related to the pathogenesis of diarrhoea in children with malnutrition.