ALTHOUGH considerable progress has been made recently in modernizing obstetric nursery services and in improving the care of newborn infants, the prevention of the acute diarrheal diseases still remains an urgent problem requiring solution. One of the chief means whereby prevention can be advanced, even though in most outbreaks the causative agents remain obscure, is through proper understanding of the clinical differences manifested by the various acute diarrheal diseases of the newborn, as well as of their origin and method of spread.
In the following discussion, an attempt is made to differentiate the acute diarrheal disorders of newborn infants and to present a tentative working classification of these disorders, pending further studies on their causation. This differentiation is derived from such information as can be culled from the cumulative literature, and more especially from experience gained in the field and at the bedside. It is based essentially on clinical grounds