Prevalence of diarrhea and its seasonal variations among hospitalized children under five in southeastern Gabon

Diarrheal disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children under five years of age in low- and middle-income countries; however, epidemiological data from Gabon remain scarce. This study aimed to assess the burden and seasonal variation of diarrheal disease among hospitalized children in southeastern Gabon. A retrospective hospital-based study was conducted in the pediatric department of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Amissa Bongo in Franceville. Data on children under five years of age, including age, sex, place of residence, admission and discharge dates, clinical findings at admission and discharge, and vital status, were collected from pediatric inpatient registers from January 2021 to December 2022. The frequency of diarrhea-related hospitalizations was analyzed according to sex, age, place of residence, and climatic season. Data from 3,832 hospitalized children under five years of age were collected, of whom 831 (21.7%) were hospitalized with diarrhea. The frequency of diarrhea-related hospitalizations varied with age, being highest among children aged < 1 year and decreasing with increasing age ( p ˂0.001). The frequency of diarrhea-related hospitalizations varied across climatic seasons, indicating a seasonal pattern that differed between the two study years. At this referral hospital, approximately 1% of hospitalized children under five years of age with diarrhea died each year. This study demonstrates that diarrhea remains a major cause of hospitalization among children under five years of age in southeastern Gabon, particularly among infants. These findings provide baseline epidemiological data that may inform the design of future studies investigating the etiologies, severity, dehydration status, and comorbidities associated with childhood diarrheal disease in Gabon.