Anil Kumar Paruchuri1, Gowri Edagotti2, Ramu Pedada3, Haresh Morri4
BACKGROUND
Diarrhoeal diseases are significant public health problems that lead to morbidity
and mortality of infants and children particularly in developing countries and
developed countries too. Rotavirus is the most important virus responsible for
severe diarrhoea among young children. India being a developing country, the
incidence of diarrhoeal diseases is high. In this part of Andhra Pradesh, low
socioeconomic status, bad feeding, and child-rearing practices along with
malnutrition contribute to the high morbidity and mortality due to diarrhoeal
disease caused by rotavirus infection.
METHODS
This cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted from January 2018 to
December 2018 in the Department of Paediatrics, Old Government Hospital,
Siddhartha Medical College, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh after obtaining ethical
clearance from Ethical and Research Committee of our institute. One hundred
(100) children, fulfilling the selection criteria who were admitted in the three
paediatric wards were the subjects of study.
RESULTS
In this present study, the incidence of rotavirus infection was high in children aged
≤ 12 months and least in children between the age group of 25 to 36 months. In
our study, we found that majority of cases with rotavirus infection occurred from
September to February (60 %). Reverse transcription – polymerase chain reaction
(RT-PCR) test done for the 24-enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) test
negative samples of this study group. Out of 24 ELISA negative samples, PCR
detects 4 samples as positive as PCR test is more sensitive than ELISA.
CONCLUSIONS
Rotavirus diarrhoea is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis (GE) in
children below five years of age in most regions of India. In this part of Andhra
Pradesh, the low socioeconomic status, bad feeding, and child-rearing practices
along with malnutrition contribute to the high morbidity and mortality due to
diarrhoeal disease caused by rotavirus infection. This data on rotavirus disease
burden may likely support evidence-based decisions regarding any further
intervention.
