Rotavirus surveillance in children with diarrhea

Objective To investigate the characteristics of rotavirus infection among infants and children with diarrhea in Urumqi.Methods 248 fecal samples were collected from children under 5 years old with diarrhea and examined for rotavirus antigen by ELISA in 2006.Rotavirus strains were genotyped by RT-PCR with primers selected from G gene area.Results Rotavirus was detected in 133(53.6%) diarrheal children.94.7% of patients with rotavirus diarrhea occurred among children less than 24 months old.The peak season was August through September.The predominant strain was G1(46.4%),followed by G3(17.6%),G9(7.2%) and G2(4%).14.4% of patients had mixed infection and 10.4% remained undetermined for strain typing.Conclusion Rotavirus was the major cause of diarrhea in young children in Urumqi.G1 and G3 were the most prevalent genotypes in 2006.