• Akram Najafi, Shariat Najafi, Katayoun Vahdat, Mohammad Kargar, and Negin Javdani.
• Department of Virology, The Persian Gulf Tropical Medicine Research Center, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran 756171597B, Iran. akna85@gmail.com
• Ann Saudi Med. 2013 Mar 1; 33 (2): 124-9.

Background And ObjectivesDifferent types of viruses are the leading cause of acute diarrhea among infants and young children worldwide. Epidemiological surveillance of viral agents is critical for the develop.ment of effective preventive measures, including vaccines. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of the four major enteropathogenic viruses-rotavirus, norovirus, adenovirus and astrovirus-in children over 7 years of age.Design And SettingA cross-sectional descriptive study conducted on stool specimens of children with acute gastroenteritis admitted to the Pediatrics Unit of 17 Shahrivar Hospital in Borazjan, Iran from October 2008 to September 2010.Patients And MethodsAcute gastroenteritis was defined as >=3 loose watery stools per 24 hours. A total of 375 stool samples were collected from hospitalized children aged < 7 years old with acute gastroenteritis. All samples were investigated by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the presence of viral antigens.ResultsRotavirus was detected in 91 (24.3%) of the patients whereas the prevalence of norovirus, adenovirus and astrovirus was 12.5%, 5.1% and 2.4%, respectively. On average, 75.9% of children with viral diarrhea were younger than 2 years old (P=.023). All the strains of viral gastroenteritis studied peaked in the autumn, except for adenovirus which peaked in spring (P=.015). The most common clinical symptoms included diarrhea (92.2%), vomiting (68.7%), abdominal cramp (60.8%) and moderate dehydration (57.2%).ConclusionSince nearly half of gastroenteritis cases (44.3%) were due to viral agents, testing for the viral antigens may guide the clinical approach to those patients with acute diarrhea particularly in the case of children less than 2 years old, and during cold seasons.

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