[Studies of acute gastroenteritis among infant and young children in a pediatric clinic].

From October 1998 to April 1999, 72 stool specimens from patients of acute gastroenteritis were collected in a pediatric clinic in Urawa city, Japan and were examined for the detection of SRSV by electron microscopy and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Forty-eight (67%) out of 72 were SRSV positives by both tests. In this season, a prevalence of SRSV peaked in December 1998. Among reported clinical symptoms, vomiting was reported more frequently than the other symptoms, such as diarrhea and fever. Furthermore, the diarrhea was intense among children under 1 year old. For the detection of SRSV by RT-PCR, we used two kinds of primer sets (MR3/MR 4 and P1/P2/P3). The P1/P2/P3 primer was most sensitive for the detection of SRSV.