Zeeshan Tariq Khan, Abbas Hayat, Shiba Asim, Imran Ali Ehsan, Usman Ghani Piracha, Imran Javed, Muhammad Ajmal Khurshid.
Burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis in children less than 5 years of age in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
J Rawal Med Coll Jan ;10(2):61-5.

Background: Rotavirus is well known to cause gastroenteritis throughout the world. It is a problem for both developing and developed countries. Studies all over the world have been conducted so far to estimate the disease burden in children especially those less than 5 years of age. Methods: A hospital based study was conducted in Rawalpindi General Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan to detect the burden of gastroenteritis caused by rotavirus in children less than 5 years of age. A total of 634 patients less than 5 years of age presented with diarrhea in the inpatient ward of Pediatrics during this 5 month period out of which 368 patients (58%) had non-bloody diarrhea. Stool specimens of 331 patients were included in the study and tested for rotavirus group A by ELISA as 37 samples were found to be of poor quality to be tested for ELISA. Results: 128 (38%) out of 331 specimens were found to be positive for rotavirus group A. The mean age in months for rotavirus gastroenteritis was found to be 12.87 months with a standard deviation of 11.82. The highest percentage of rotavirus infected patients (71.9%) was found to be in <= 12 months age group. Female patients with rotavirus gastroenteritis were more (53.1%) than the male patients (46.9%). Conclusion: In order to improve child survival rate, continued surveillance in detecting the burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis is required in other cities of Pakistan also so that appropriate measures could be taken in regard with diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis for this disease.

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