Evaluation of rotavirus gastroenteritis in children: five years’ surveillance in Alanya, Antalya

Rotavirus infection is the major cause of fatal diarrhea among children younger than five years. We aimed to determine the frequency of rotavirus infection according to age, gender and month of the year. From April 2008 through March 2013, 3,106 fresh stool specimens of children under the age of 16 years were tested for rotavirus antigen, and rotavirus antigen was detected as positive in 422 (13.6%) patients. Half of the patients (208/422, 49.3%) were younger than two years. 40.9 % (173/422) of all rotavirus gastroenteritis cases were detected in winter months. The ratio of rotavirus positivity in all laboratory studies was highest (19.3%) in February. Key words: rotavirus, children, acute gastroenteritis. Diarrhea represents a group of diseases that can affect everyone at any age. It remains one of the leading causes of death in children under five years of age, accounting for 5-10 million deaths per year1. Because the majorit