ABSTRACT
The prevalence of rotavirus diarrhea was compared in two settings, among children attending outpatient clinics and those hospitalized (inpatients) at Pune, India. A total of 489 and 628 fecal specimens were collected during October 1993 to September 1996 from outpatients and inpatients respectively. Overall occurrence of rotavirus diarrhea was more among hospitalized children. Using the stratification on the variable age, it is shown that age is indeed a confounding variable. The important finding of the study was, in < or = 6 months age group, it was observed that the occurrence of rotavirus diarrhea was more in the outpatients (30.26%) than among the inpatients (10.11%). Children of this age group are likely to be partially protected by maternal antibodies. The effect of seasonality and sex distribution did not differ in the two settings. It was found that G2 serotype was the major cause of diarrhea among the outpatients.
Subject(s)
Ambulatory Care Facilities , Diarrhea/epidemiology , Female , Hospitalization , Humans , India/epidemiology , Inpatients/statistics & numerical data , Male , Outpatients/statistics & numerical data , Prevalence , Rotavirus Infections/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Rotavirus was detected in 266 (28.15%) out of 945 faecal specimens collected between July 1992 and June 1996 from children < or = 5 yr of age. Statistical analysis using odds ratios and multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that seasonality had a strong influence on the number of rotavirus diarrhoea cases admitted to the hospital. Maximum cases occurred in the winter and minimum in the rainy season. Age was strongly associated with the prevalence of rotavirus diarrhoea. The age group of 6-24 months was the most susceptible. This disease was more predominant in males.