Rotavirus Infection Among Under Five Children Presenting with Gastroenteritis in Ibadan, Nigeria.

• G.N Odaibo

Rotavirus infection is one of the leading causes of death attributable to diarrhoea among under five children globally. It is also the most common cause of severe diarrhoeal illness in infants and young children in developing countries resulting in high mortality and morbidity. The epidemiology of rotavirus infection is well known in developed countries where rotavirus vaccination has been implemented. However in developing countries such as Nigeria, rotavirrus vaccination is not part of the expanded programme for immunization thus implementing the rotavirus vaccination programme has not been possible because of the cost of the vaccine. In addition, surveillance activities in developing counties are at low ebb thus information on rotavirus epidemiology in these countries is not well known. Nigeria is among the five countries accounting for over half of deaths attributable to rotavirus infection worldwide. Information on rotavirus infections and its risk factors from Nigeria is important in global rotavirus surveillance and elimination efforts. This study was designed to determine the prevalence, associated symptoms and risk factors of rotavirus infection among under five gastroenteric children in Ibadan, Nigeria. Stool samples were collected from 173 children and assayed for rotavirus antigen by Enzyme Immunoassay. A Structured questionnaire was administered to obtain socio-demographic and clinical information from each of the study participants. Thirty-two (18.5%) out of the 173 samples tested were positive for rotavirus antigen with the highest rate of infection (30.5%) among children aged 7-12 months. Rotavirus infection was highest (37.5%) among children presenting with severe gastroenteritis and lowest (12.5%) when diarrhea occurred alone (P=0.02). Presence of another diarrhoeic person in the household was the most significant risk factor for rotavirus infection (P=0.0001). Other risk factors identified included playing with toys, playing with other people /children, not washing of child’s hand after visit to toilet and consumption of food that did not require cooking. Findings from this study support the inclusion of rotavirus vaccination as part of the Expanded Programme on Immunization in Nigeria. It also shows the need to test for rotavirus in diarrhoea cases especially among children that test negative for bacteria and parasitic agents.

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