Acquisition and clearance of enteric pathogens in children under 5 years of age in Kigali and Musanze, Rwanda, 2022: a longitudinal cohort study

New enteric infections were very common, in particular in rural areas, but rarely caused diarrhoea and most infections were effectively cleared. The findings show that heavy pathogen exposure rather than persistent infections explains the high prevalence of enteric infections among children in poor countries. Rotavirus remains a significant cause of diarrhoea a decade after vaccine introduction, indicating that vaccination mainly protects against severe symptoms and less against infection with no or moderate symptoms.