Although viruses are well-established causes of acute gastroenteritis, few data on
the circulation of these pathogens in Porto Velho, state of Rondônia, Brazil, are
available. Thus, faecal samples from hospitalised diarrhoeic children, under six
years of age, were collected and tested for the presence of norovirus (NoV),
adenovirus (AdV) and astrovirus (AstV) from February 2010-February 2012. Specimens
were screened by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and viruses were
found in 10.7% (63/591) of the cases. NoV, AdV and AstV were detected in 7.8%, 2% and
0.8% of the samples, respectively. NoV infection was observed at all ages and was
most prevalent in zero-18-month-old children (84.7%; p = 0.002). A higher incidence
of NoV was detected from February-April 2010, when it was found in 52.2% of the
cases. Co-infections involving these viruses, rotavirus and enteropathogenic bacteria
were detected in 44.4% (28/63) of the children with viral diarrhoea. Nosocomial
infections were demonstrated in 28.6% (18/63) of the cases in which viruses were
detected. The present paper reports, for the first time, the circulation of NoV and
AstV among the paediatric population of Porto Velho and it contributes to our
understanding of the roles of these pathogens in gastrointestinal infections.