Clinical analysis of diarrhea as a result of rotavirus and astrovirus infection in children below the age of 5 years in Shanghai

Objective To investigate the epidemiology,clinical characteristics,presence of extra-intestinal injury and the direct costs resulting from diarrhea caused by rotavirus and astrovirus infection in children below the age of 5 years in Shanghai.Methods Stool specimens saved from inpatients and outpatients of Children's Hospital of Fudan University during the period June 2006 to March 2007 were analysed.Initially,the presence of rotavirus was detected using the colloidal gold immunochromatographic assay.Specimens negative for rotavirus were then tested for astrovirus using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The target population in this study was children below the age of five,with ≤ 2 weeks of duration of diarrhea,which were negative for bacterial culture.Results A total of 724 stool specimens(5 years old or younger) were collected.Out of 724 samples,42.5% were positive for rotavirus,of which 85% were from patients of two years old or younger.Cases were distributed throughout the year peaking in December 2006-January 2007.Of 240 stool specimens negative for rotavirus(age 5 years or younger),astrovirus was detected in 11.6%,of which 53.6% were from patients of two years old or youger.Cases were distributed all through the year,with a peak from October 2006 to January 2007.Conclusion Both rotavirus and astrovirus are important pathogens which cause viral gastroenteritis in young children in Shanghai.