THE FREQUENCY OF CULTURING STOOLS FROM ADULTS WITH DIARRHEA IN GREAT-BRITAIN

Utilizing the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) Omnibus Survey, it was possible to measure the frequency with which a stool c ulture was obtained following episodes of diarrhoea in adults. Intervi ewing over 8000 adults, over a 4-month period between October 1992 and January 1993, 633 persons (7.9%) reported one episode of diarrhoea in the previous month: and 5.4% of these individuals with diarrhoea repo rted that a stool had been requested for examination. No significant r egional differences were observed with the sample size available. The estimate of the rate of diarrhoea in adults was just under one episode per person per year.