Rotavirus Quantification in Children with Acute Gastroenteritis.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric infectious diseases
• Molecular diagnostics
• Virology

Background:

• Antibiotic overuse is common for childhood diarrhea, regardless of cause.
• Reducing antimicrobial resistance necessitates accurate diagnosis of infectious agents.
• Rotavirus (RV) is a significant cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify rotavirus (RV) in fecal samples from children with AGE using TaqMan real-time PCR.
• To support antibiotic stewardship programs by identifying viral etiologies.
• To assess the prevalence of RV in hospitalized children with AGE.

Main Methods:

• Collected 190 fecal specimens from children under 5 with AGE in Italy (2017).
• Utilized TaqMan real-time PCR to quantify RV genomic detection.
• Tested for other common gastrointestinal viruses including norovirus, astrovirus, and adenovirus.

Main Results:

• Rotavirus (RV) was detected in 66 out of 190 (34.7%) children with AGE.
• The median RV viral load was 7.2E+11 ± 60E+11 genomes/mg of feces.
• Norovirus was the most prevalent virus (41%), followed by astrovirus (15.8%).

Conclusions:

• Rotavirus (RV) accounts for a substantial proportion (34.7%) of AGE hospitalizations in children.
• Quantitative molecular assays accurately measure viral load (viral particles/mg feces).
• Improved clinical utility of quantitative assays like RV viral load can enhance patient management.