INTRODUCTION Gastroenteritis is the major cause of mortality worldwide and especially in Africa [1]. Most of the deaths occur in children under 5 years [2]. Gastroenteritis has a wide range of etiological agents that include viruses such as Rotavirus and Adenovirus that account for about 66.7% and 8.3% of acute gastroenteritis in children respectively [3]; protozoa such as Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia intestinalis play a major role in causing enteric associated infections [4]; and coliform bacilli that are associated with fatal diarrheagenic infections [5]. Of all these pathogens, E. coli accounts for about 23% of total gastroenteric infection [6]. E. coli has been associated with diarrhea among children in Chile [7] and India [8]. In Kenya, E. coli has also been associated with persistent drug resistant diarrhea among children. A survey across selected hospitals in Kenya reported
that E. coli was responsible for 11.2% of all diarrhea cases [9].