فراواني اسهال حاد روتاويروسي در كودكان زير 6 سال شهر گرگان در سال 1385

Frequency of Acute Rota-Viral Diarrhea in Children Under 6 Years in Gorgan, in 2006

Background and objective: Rotaviruses are the common causes of acute diarrhea in infants and children all over the world. Rota viral diarrhea is on the most important health problems. We conducted this study to determine the frequency of rotavirus diarrhea in Golestan province of Iran. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was done on children less than 6 years old presented with diarrhea in a referral hospital in Gorgan, Iran. Stool samples of 411 children were collected and rotavirus was searched by SDS-PAGE method in the samples. Results: Sixty (15.1%) out of 411 samples were infected with rotavirus. 14.9% of boys and 15.3% of girls were infected. The prevalence of infection was higher in children aged 0-2 years (18.3%) and it was more common in autumn (28.8%) and winter (21.9%). Conclusion: Our results showed that the rotaviral diarrhea is relatively common, especially during cold seasons in our area. So it is recommended that this infection should be considered as potential etiology of diarrhea.