Prevalence of Rotavirus diarrhea among under-five hospitalized children in government tertiary hospital, Tirupati

Abstract

Context: Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea requiring hospitalization among infants and young children worldwide. The prevalence of rotavirus diarrhea in India has been found to vary in the range 5-71% in hospitalized children aged under 5 years with acute gastroenteritis. The seasonal variation of rotavirus diarrhea in India varies across different geographical regions, with high incidence in the winter months at low relative humidity in northern India. Aim: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of rotavirus diarrhea among hospitalized children aged under 5 years and to learn about the genotypic distribution of rotaviruses causing diarrhea. Settings and Design: Study design: hospital-based cross-sectional study. Study setting: the pediatrics department of a tertiary care Government hospital, Tirupati, India. Study period: September 20, 2012-September 19, 2013. Materials and Methods: Study units: children under 5 years of age presenting with diarrhea. Stool specimens from all hospitalized children aged under 5 years who had presented with acute watery diarrhea were collected and tested for rotavirus by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Positive samples were tested for G and P typing by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique. Statistical Analysis Used: Percentage and chi-square analysis. Results: Among the study sample, 68.7% of children were in the age group between 1-12 months and 25.6% children showed positive result for rotavirus by ELISA. Of the rotavirus positives, 50% were G1P8 viruses. Conclusion: Rotavirus is an important cause of diarrhea in hospitalized children.