Zinc supplementation benefits children suffering from diarrhoea in developing countries, but only in infants over six months old, Cochrane Researchers have found. Their study supports World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for the treatment of diarrhoea with zinc, although not in the very young.

Today’s issue of the scientific journal Science presents research on the genetic make-up and biology of the parasite Giardia lamblia that ultimately may lead to better diagnosis and treatment of the diarrhea disease giardiasis, which affects 200 million people every year.

Each year more than half a million infants worldwide, primarily in developing countries, die from diarrhoea caused by rotavirus. Even in industrialised countries management of the infection costs economies about $1 billion a year.

Despite global efforts to control it, diarrhoea is still one of the most common reasons for the high child mortality rates in many low and middle-income countries. This according to a doctoral thesis, soon to be presented at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet.

Several probiotic products are marketed as effective treatments for acute diarrhoea in children, but a study published on www.bmj.com today finds that not all of these preparations are effective.