Abstract
Infectious gastroenteritis is one of the most common illnesses among children and
is caused by many etiological agents; however, viruses are responsible for 50 to 75%
of all cases. A laboratory-based study was carried out from 2005–2006 aiming to describe
epidemiological aspects of rotavirus (RV), astrovirus, and adenovirus associated with
gastroenteritis in Mexican children. Children younger than 5 years with acute diarrhea
from four clinics and eight daycare centers were studied. The presence of RV was determined
using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) with silver staining. Negative samples
were further tested for RV, adenovirus, and astrovirus using immunoassays. A total
of 727 children were studied. The RV prevalence by PAGE was 56.8% (413/727). Out of
314 samples that were PAGE negative, 18.1% (57/314) were positive for any virus; the
prevalence for the specific viruses was 9.5% (30/314); for RV, 4.4% (14/314); for
astrovirus; 3.8% (12/314); for adenovirus, and 0.3% (1/314) with RV and astrovirus
mixed infection. Viruses are responsible of more than 60% of acute diarrhea diseases
among Mexican children.
Keywords
Rotavirus - astrovirus - adenovirus - Mexican - diarrhea
