Abstract
Studies on diarrhoeal disease were conducted in Ghana to understand the present status and problems of the disease in developing countries. The World Health Organization has been promoting the Programme for Control of Diarrhoeal Diseases in developing countries, however, the results in the studies showed that the treatment of diarrhoea cases with oral rehydration salts may not be well operated because of insufficient education or training to the public. Poverty was also preventing sick children from receiving adequate treatment at health facilities. Mortality due to the disease was closely correlated with the complications such as malnutrition and measles. A survey on enteric pathogen in childhood gastroenteritis demonstrated that singnificantly more rotaviruses were detected in diarrhoea cases than in those without diarrhoea. Enterotoxigenic and enteropathogenic Escherichia Coli, Shigella, Salmonella and Campylobacter were identified as the bacterial enteropathogens, however, statistical difference was not found in detection of any bacterial pathogen between children with and without diarrhoea. The results suggested that intensification of primary health care activities to spread appropriate oral rehydration therapy is important for the successful control of the disease.
