ABSTRACT
This pilot study was done in preparation to assist in chosing the appropriat site for a 5-year main study. The study aim was to find the differences in epidemiology of rotavirus (RV) and other viral agents causing gastroenteritits in children in Kenya between an urban hospital; in this case Kenyatta National Hospital; and a rural hospital to be chosen from Narok; Nanyuki or Kitui district hospitals. Stool specimens were collected for two weeks during the same period from children aged 0 to 14 years attending outpatient clinics and those admitted with diarrhoea at the hospitals. Stool specimens were subsequently analysed by the ELISA method. The presence of RV was confirmed by the sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis method which demonstrates the electrophoretic pattern of the RNA genome. The RV positive rates were 35 (21 in 60) in Nanyuki; 13.8 (4 in 29) in Narok and 1.8 (1 in 56) in Kitui. From these 26 RV strains; 8 (7 long and one short) electropherotype patterns were demonstrated. Subgrupingand serotyping was also done by ELISA method on the 26 isolates yielding 2 subgroup I and 24 subgroup II. The major serotypes were 1(30.8) and 4(26.9) while serotypes were undeterminable in 10 positive specimens. Tissue culture using MA104 cells yielded 5 strains from these positive specimens