Rotavirus infection in elderly patients

In the course of an outbreak of non-bacterial diarrhoea in a group of elderly patients in a rehabilitation ward, rotavirus was detected by electron-microscopy in five of 11 stool specimens (45.5%) from symptomatic elderly patients. This suggests that although rotavirus is usually thought of as a cause of gastro-enteritis in children it should also be considered as a cause of non-bacterial diarrhoea in elderly patients and stool specimens examined for its presence. Rotavirus gastro-enteritis appears to be a highly contagious disease but appropriate measures can limit its spread.