Epidemiology and Phenotypic Profile of <i>Bacillus</i><i> </i><i>cereus</i> Strains Isolated from Diarrhoeal Stools of Children Aged 0 to 5 Years in Port-Bouët, Abidjan

Background: Diarrhoeal diseases represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children under five years, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Although diarrhoea caused by Bacillus cereus is infrequent and typically mild, confirming its presence remains challenging. This study aimed to characterise the phenotypic features of Bacillus cereus strains isolated from diarrhoeal stools of children aged 0–5 years at Port-Bouët General Hospital. document gives formatting instructions. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from February to September 2020 at the Clinical Bacteriology Unit of the Pasteur Institute in Côte d’Ivoire. Faecal samples from children aged 0 to 5 presenting with diarrhoea were collected using rectal swabs and transported in Cary-Blair medium. Presumptive Bacillus cereus strains were isolated using brain-heart infusion broth for pre-enrichment, Mossel (MYP) agar for primary culture, and sheep blood agar for confirmation. Biochemical identification was conducted using the API 50CH gallery, and antibiotic susceptibility was determined by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion according to EUCAST requirements. Results: Of 186 stool samples analysed, 16 Bacillus cereus isolates were obtained. Half of these patients were under 12 months, with a sex ratio of 1.28. All isolates exhibited peritrichous motility and complete resistance to benzylpenicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, and trimethoprim. Low resistance rates were observed for clindamycin (6.25%), vancomycin (12.5%), and imipenem sensitivity reached 93.75%. Clinically, abdominal pain (87.5%), vomiting (56.25%), and fever (87.5%) were the predominant symptoms observed. Conclusion: Bacillus cereus should be routinely included in stool culture protocols due to its distinctive phenotypic profile and potential pathogenicity.