Objective: To determine the prevalence of Campylobacter species as aetiologic agents of diarrhoea and its antimicrobial susceptibility pattern.
Design: This was a laboratory based cross sectional study on the cause of childhood diarrhoea.
Setting: Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Medical School in Harare.
Subjects: Children less than five years old with diarrhoea presenting at primary level health centres in Harare.
Main outcome measures: Patient's age, culture results, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern.
Results: Campylobacter species had the highest isolation rate (9.3%) of all the bacterial and parasitic enteric pathogens which were sought in the stool specimens. Children less than three years old were those most frequently infected with Campylobacter species. Campylobacter jejuni was the commonest Campylobacter species isolated. All the Campylobacter isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol and norfloxacin. A significant number of the isolates (14.8%) showed multidrug resistance to erythromycin, tetracycline and gentamicin.
Conclusions: Campylobacter species are important causative agents of childhood diarrhoea. The age group affected most in the urban area is older than the age group in rural areas. Campylobacter jejuni is more important in causing diarrhoea than other Campylobacter species. There is a high rate of multi-drug resistance by Campylobacter species.