Rotavirus infection in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

BACKGROUNDHuman rotavirus, an important causative agent of severe gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide, leads to high morbidity in both developing and developed countries, including Saudi Arabia, and high mortality in developing countries. Effective control depends upon an accurate understanding of disease burden and the relative importance of circulating serotypes.METHODSWe examined the epidemiology and disease burden of rotavirus in Saudi Arabia through a review of 22 published studies of rotavirus and the aetiology of diarrhoea carried out from 1982 to 2003.RESULTSThe prevalence of rotavirus infection ranged between 10% to 46% with a median of 30%. Most cases were among children less than 2 years of age, and particularly in the first year of life. There were significant differences in seasonality within Saudi Arabia, with increased infection during winter in some cities and during summer in others. G1 was the predominant serotype followed by G4, G3 and G2, in 4 studies where strains had been G-typed. The prevalence of nontypeable strains ranged from 11.0% to 31.3%. No data were available on P types. Results of electropherotyping in 4 studies revealed that the long electropherotype was predominant.CONCLUSIONRotavirus is an important cause of severe diarrhoea in Saudi children. However, the available data on rotavirus strains in circulation are limited and there is an urgent need for up-to-date and comprehensive studies to evaluate rotavirus strains in circulation and identify unusual types that could be incorporated into future vaccines.

The Accuracy of Elisa Versus Latex Agglutination Tests in Diagnosis of Rotavirus Acute Gastroenteritis and the Clinical Usefulness of C- Reactive Protein in Iraqi Children

“…Rotavirus detected by latex agglutination (15%), with high CRP level 96 mg/dl (10%). These finding relatively lower than reports from Saudi Arabia (30%) [21], Iran [22] and Jordan [23]. Among the age group (3.1-5) year, Rotavirus was detected by ELISA in (2.5%), CRP level 48 mg/dl; 96 mg/dl (1.25%).…”

Detection of coronaviruses in children with acute gastroenteritis in Maddina, Saudi Arabia

“…While the role of rotavirus as a causal agent of gastro-enteritis has been previously described in Saudi Arabia, 7,[9][10][11] known about the importance of other gastro-intestinal viruses. Using EM, we detected coronaviruses in 6% of children with diarrhoea.…”

Molecular Epidemiology of Rotavirus Diarrhea among Children in Saudi Arabia: First Detection of G9 and G12 Strains

“…The bootstrap probabilities equal or greater than 800 after 1,000 replications are provided at each branching point. studies reported in this country showed that the detection rate ranged between 10 and 46% (20). Approximately 60% of rotavirus infections were identified in the first year of life, and 89% were identified by the end of the second year of life.…”

“…80% of the Arabian Peninsula. The World Health Organization estimates that there were 462 rotavirus-associated deaths in 2004 (41), and the Ministry of Health reported that there were 267,000 to 439,000 health center visits and approximately 8,000 hospitalizations due to diarrhea of any cause in 2001 (20). However, few studies have addressed the epidemiology of rotavirus in Saudi Arabia.…”

“…However, few studies have addressed the epidemiology of rotavirus in Saudi Arabia. Particularly, information about the distribution of G and P types is completely lacking (20).…”