Diarrheal diseases in Brazil: clinical features of rotavirus-associated gastroenteritis in children.

This study was undertaken to detect the presence of rotavirus in the stools of children with gastroenteritis, using the enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and to compare the signs and symptoms of rotavirus-positive and -negative children. Over a period of fifteen months, 367 children ranging in age from less than 1 month to 5 years or more with diarrhea and 86 children, in the same age group, without diarrhea and respiratory infections, used as controls, were evaluated. Human rotavirus was detected in 15.8% of children with diarrhea attending out-patient clinics and in 28.9% of patients seen by general practitioners. In the control groups, the percentages of identification of rotavirus were 1.4% and 5.5% respectively. Frequency of other enteropathogens was determined. The hydration state of diarrheal cases, different clinical symptoms and the type of medical attendance distinguished the rotavirus positive from the rotavirus negative patients.