© 1983 by Oxford University Press
research-article |
Enteritis Necroticans in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea
Mendi Hospital Mendi, SHP, Papua New Guinea
One hundred and thirty six cases of enteritis necroticans (EN) are reviewed. Acute cases constituted 62.5 per cent of the total, chronic cases 37.5 per cent. The mortality in the acute cases was 32.1 per cent and in the chronic cases 15.7 per cent. The histories suggest that there are two groups of patients: a younger group (mean age 7.7 years) infected withClostridium welchii type C (CWC) through the ingestion of contaminated meat and an older group (mean age 12.1 years) in which there is an overgrowth of endogenous CWC in the small bowel.