Frontiers in Public Health 01 frontiersin.org Magnitude of enteric pathogens associated with diarrhea and antibiotic resistance of enteric bacterial pathogens isolated among children under 5  years of age in Bule Hora town, West Guji, Ethiopia Girma Ashenafi , Dagnamyelew Tilahun , Alqeer Aliyo * and Biruk Sisay Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Institute of Health, Bule Hora University, Bule Hora, Ethiopia Background: Diarrhea is the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide among all ages, and one of the leading causes of poor health and premature death in the developing world. Microorganisms, such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites, are responsible for enteric infections among children. Excessive and inappropriate use of antimicrobial drugs and poor infection control practices have transformed antimicrobial resistance into a serious threat to public health worldwide. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the prevalence of enteric pathogens and the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of bacterial pathogens. Objective: Assess the prevalence of enteric pathogens associated with diarrhea in children under 5  years at the Bule Hora Health Facility in 2021. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2021 to July 2021 in a Bule Hora Health Centre and Hospital. A total of 422 children with diarrhea were included in the study in the outpatient department. Sociodemographic and associated factors were evaluated using a pre-tested questionnaire. A sufficient amount of stool specimens was collected following standard microbiological procedures. An antigen detection kit was used to diagnose rotaviruses, parasites were examined using microscopy, and bacterial identification was carried out by culture and biochemical tests. The antibiotic susceptibility test of the bacterial isolates was performed using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. The p- value less than 0.05 was declared statistically significant. Results: The overall prevalence of enteropathogens in children under 5  years of age was 17%, with no mixed infections detected. Of this, 7.8% of the children’s stool samples contained bacterial pathogens, 5% tested positive for rotavirus, and 4.2% contained intestinal parasites. Unprotected drinking water sources, poor carrier hand washing practices, and poor cleaning of utensils for child feeding were factors significantly associated with the prevalence of enteropathogens. Bacterial isolates have shown a high prevalence of resistance to amoxicillin. Conclusion: Therefore, it is important to take steps to reduce the spread of enteric pathogens among children under 5years practicing good hygiene, ensuring sanitation, and providing clean drinking water. We recommend performing antimicrobial susceptibility tests before prescribing treatment to children with diarrhea. OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Ponsiano Ocama, Makerere University, Uganda REVIEWED BY Arefeh Babazadeh, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Iran Rajeev Nagassar, The University of the West Indies St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago *CORRESPONDENCE Alqeer Aliyo alker438@gmail.com RECEIVED 09 March 2024 ACCEPTED 25 September 2024 PUBLISHED 07 October 2024 CITATION Ashenafi G, Tilahun D, Aliyo A and Sisay B (2024) Magnitude of enteric pathogens associated with diarrhea and antibiotic resistance of enteric bacterial pathogens isolated among children under 5  years of age in Bule Hora town, West Guji, Ethiopia. Front. Public Health 12:1398264. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1398264 COPYRIGHT © 2024 Ashenafi, Tilahun, Aliyo and Sisay. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. TYPE Original Research PUBLISHED 07 October 2024 DOI 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1398264