Abstract:
In the Auckland region, hospital admission rates for children and young people with gastroenteritis are higher than the New Zealand average at all ages. Pacific children and young people have higher rates of hospitalisation for gastroenteritis in Auckland than either Maori or the rest of the population, and this pattern appears across the three District Health Boards (DHB), with Counties Manukau DHB having the highest number of cases. Routine faecal testing is not performed on children seen at Auckland’s two paediatric hospitals, Starship and Kidz First Children’s Hospitals, since it often does not affect clinical management. As a result, the precise etiology of paediatric gastroenteritis admissions has been unclear.