Presence of Rotavirus and Adenovirus Antigens in Children with Gastroenteritis Who Attended the Tekirdag State Hospital

Abstract

Objective: Viral agents are the frequent causes of infectious diarrhea in children, but little is known about their epidemiology in Turkey. With this study, we aimed to determine the frequency of gastroenteritis due to rotavirus and adenovirus in the Tekirdag region. Material and Methods: Stool specimens of children with acute gastroenteritis were collected and screened for Group A rotavirus and adenovirus serotype 40-41 antigens, with the immunochromatographic test (RIDA Quick, R-Biopharm, Germany) according to the recommendations of the manufacturer. The results of the subjects were evaluated by examining groups based on the ages: Group A (0 months to 2 years), Group B (3-6 years) and Group C (7-15 years). Results: Of the stool samples, 2135 were tested for the presence of rotavirus and 2117 for adenovirus. 222 (10.4%) samples were positive for rotavirus and 77 (3.6%) were positive for adenovirus antigens. The distribution of rotavirus-positive cases in all the groups analyzed was 63.7%, 27.8%, 8.5% in groups A, B and C, respectively (p<0.001) and the distribution of adenovirus-positive cases in all groups analyzed was 40.3%, 36.3%, 23.4% in groups A, B and C, respectively (p=0.16). No stastistical difference due to gender was obtained for any of the agents (p=0.38, p=0.31 Observation of seasonal variations of the agents showed a higher frequency of rotavirus in December (n=44, 19.8%) and adenovirus in July (n=21, 27.3%). Conclusion: Our results shows the importance of viral agents which are generally missed by routine diagnostic tests in identifying the causes of infectious diarrhea. (J Pediatr Inf 2013; 7: 131-5)