Rotavirus infection in normal nursery: epidemic and surveillance

Human rotavirus (HRV) epidemics have not been reported in normal full-term newborn nurseries in the US. This report describes an epidemic from April 27 to May 6, 1982 in which 23 infants were infected. Diagnosis was confirmed with Rotazyme (Abbott) in 82% (23/28) of the neonates screened. Five were asymptomatic; in the remaining 18 cases, the symptoms were usually mild and self-limited. Transient shedding of the virus was found in 8% (4/52) of personnel screened, and only one of them was symptomatic. Control measures included the following: strict cohorting, closure of transitional nursery, enteric precautions and wiping of horizontal surfaces with 95% ethyl alcohol which has been shown to be an effective virucidal agent for rotavirus in laboratories. Follow-up in 80 of 108 contact neonates born during the epidemic showed only two mildly symptomatic cases after discharge. During an 11-month period of surveillance, 33% of neonates (1,688/5,054) born at Cook County Hospital were screened for excretion of virus in stools; only 3.6% of infants (61/1,688) were positive by Rotazyme and none were symptomatic. This report suggests that strict measures are helpful in control of HRV epidemic gastroenteritis and asymptomatic shedding need not be as high as the previously reported incidence of 40% to 50%.