The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics
2014 , Vol 56 , Num 3
Evaluation of Rotavirus Gastroenteritis in Children: Five Years’ Surveillance in Alanya, Antalya
Department of Pediatrics, Başkent University Alanya Research and Medical Center, Antalya, Turkey.
E-mail:byrmcbn@gmail.com
Rotavirus infection is the major cause of fatal diarrhea among children younger
than five years. We aimed to determine the frequency of rotavirus infection
according to age, gender and month of the year. From April 2008 through
March 2013, 3,106 fresh stool specimens of children under the age of 16
years were tested for rotavirus antigen, and rotavirus antigen was detected
as positive in 422 (13.6%) patients. Half of the patients (208/422, 49.3%)
were younger than two years. 40.9% (173/422) of all rotavirus gastroenteritis
cases were detected in winter months. The ratio of rotavirus positivity in all
laboratory studies was highest (19.3%) in February.
Keywords :
rotavirus, children, acute gastroenteritis.