[Outbreak of human rotavirus infection in an adult community]

Group A rotaviruses are known as the major cause of severe dehydrating diarrhoea in infants.

In adults, the rotavirus infections are usually asymptomatic. In the present study the authors report a group A rotavirus outbreak in a psychiatric nursing home for adults.

The outbreak lasted 3 weeks; the attack rate was 20%. The mean age of patients was 39 y (range 21 to 65; n = 25). The symptoms were mild, and most of the patients recovered within 2 or 3 days. The epidemiological data suggested that the virus was introduced by a patient, and it was transmitted by person-to-person route. Rotavirus positive specimens were characterised by serotyping and electropherotyping. The serotype-specific monoclonal antibody immunoassay demonstrated the circulation of a common strain with G1 specificity. These samples shared identical genome profile with strains circulated in the paediatric communities of the country.

In Hungary, this is the first published gastroenteritis outbreak among adults caused by group A rotaviruses with G1 serotype specificity.