Lower Prevalence of Diarrhoea in Young Children Fed Lactic Acid-Fermented Cereal Gruels

In many developing countries, diarrhoea is one of the major precipitating factors of child morbidity and mortality. It also significantly contributes to the high prevalence of malnutrition in young children. Available information suggests that a major part of all diarrhoea episodes are associated with bacterial contamination of weaning foods. In vitro studies, however, have shown a strong inhibitory effect of lactic acid-fermented weaning gruels on the proliferation of diarrhoea-causing pathogens. To assess whether this inhibitory effect is reflected by a lower transmission of diarrhoea, a prospective epidemiological study was carried out to measure the prevalence of diarrhoea in a group of young children in Tanzania who were given a lactic acid-fermented cereal gruel on a daily basis. Two groups of about 100 children under five years of age were selected on the basis of the use or non-use of fermented gruels. The nutrition status of the children in each group, as measured by comparison of their weight for age with the standard, was not statistically different (p > .05). The mean age of the children in the two groups was similar. An average feeding frequency of 3.5 times per day was reported for both groups. Biweekly recall for diarrhoea, defined as watery, loose stools two or more times per day, was conducted for nine months among selected children. The mean number of diarrhoea episodes over the study period was 2.1 for children eating fermented gruels, compared with 3.5 for those eating non-fermented gruels (p<.001). The frequency of diarrhoea was also age dependent: it was significantly higher in children under three years of age than in older children in both diet groups (p<.001). Fever episodes were reported in similar proportions in both groups, and were significantly related to diarrhoea (p < .001). Other diseases and the children's nutrition status were not related to the frequency of diarrhoea.