Rotavirus gastroenteritis in southern California.

Abstract

The epidemiology of rotavirus infections in Southern California was analyzed over a three year period, from January 1, 1981 through December 31, 1983. Data was available from patients seen at the University of California Irvine Medical Center (UCIMC), in addition to referral testing provided to the community in Orange County. Over the 3 yr period the laboratory performed 1172 rotavirus assays. Out of these, 345 were positive for an overall positive rate of 29.4%. The 643 stool specimens from UCIMC corresponded to 508 patients, of which 31.1% (158/508) were positive for rotavirus. The majority of patients with a positive rotavirus test were under 1 yr of age (117/158), with only ten cases found in the 2-15 yr old group. The distribution of the positive rotavirus tests was similar for the female and male population. Approximately 70% of the positive results occur during October through December, with the month of November having the highest incidence. The distribution of positive rotavirus tests did not appear to correlate with either the coldest or the driest month of the year in Southern California.