Rotavirus infection among children in hospital in Nigeria

Faecal samples of 139 Nigerian infants and young children admitted to hospital for gastro-enteritis and of 169 admitted for various other illnesses were tested for rotaviruses by an ELISA technique. Rotaviruses were detected significantly more often in those with gastro-enteritis (20.1%) than in those with other illnesses (3.6%). By contrast, in a representative sample of the population from which the patients had been derived no difference was observed between two similar groups in either isolation or detection rates of recognised enteric bacterial pathogens or intestinal parasites. Hence, as elsewhere, rotaviruses are the most significant enteric pathogens associated with gastro-enteritis among infants and young children in this locality.