The Prevalence of Rotavirus Infection in Baquba- Diyala Province

Abstract

Rotavirus infection is the leading single cause of severe diarrhea among infants and young children. More than 500,000 children under 5 years of age die from rotavirus infection each year, and almost 2 million more become severely ill. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of rotavirus infection among patients with diarrhea in Baquba- Diyala province, and to explore the effect of certain relevant factors. Materials and methods: The present study was extended from 1/July/2007 to 1/September/ 2008 in Baquba city. A total of 300 fecal specimens were collected from patients suffering from acute diarrhea. The patients include 136 (45.3%) females with mean age (7.8 ± 4.7) years, and 164 males with mean age (5.3± 3.4) years. BioRad-Rota kit is a highly sensitive agglutination test was used for detection of rotavirus in fecal specimens. Bacterial coinfections were identified by culturing on differential and selective media, and the final diagnosis followed the standard bacteriological criteria. Parasitic co-infections were detected by general stool examination. All data were statistically analyzed.