Frequency of Rota Virus in Children with Acute Gastroenteritis

Objective: Gastroenteritis is a common clinical condition in infancy and childhood. It is reported that 17% of the deaths in children under the age of five in the world are caused by diarrheal diseases. In this age group, the agents in 70% of acute gastroenteritis cases are active viruses. Rotavirus is the most frequent viral factor. In the study it was aimed to determine the frequency of rotavirus in pediatric patients who applied to Erzincan Mengücek Gazi Education and Research Hospital with complaints of diarrhea. Material and Method: Between January 2013 and December 2016, the results of stool samples of 7851 patients screened for rotavirus antigen were evaluated retrospectively. During these periods, the presence of rotavirus antigen was investigated by immunochromatographic method in fresh stool specimens. Results: A total of 4416 (56%) stool samples were obtained from males, and 3435 (44%) were obtained from females. Analysis revealed that 820 (10.44%) of the specimens were rotavirus antigen positive. Rotavirus positivity was most commonly seen in the age group from 2 to 5 years in winter and spring. Conclusion: Rotavirus infections still maintain their importance and cause seasonal epidemics. Rotavirus vaccine might be taken into consideration for the national vaccination program, because of the common frequency in the age group from 2 to 5 years.