Etiology of viral diarrhea in children aged5 years in Beijing, 2013

Objective To understand the etiological characteristics of viral diarrhea in children aged5 years in Beijing and provide evidence for the prevention and treatment of viral diarrhea. Methods Stool samples were collected randomly from diarrheal children aged5 years in 2 grade A hospitals in Beijing in 2013. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted to detect rotavirus. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted to detect calicivirus, enteric adenovirus and astrovirus. Results A total of 243 stool samples were collected. Among these samples,the overall positive rate in virus detection was 52.7% (128/243). The positive rate was 26.3% (64/243) for rotavirus, 16.9% (41/243) for calicivirus, 4.9% (12/243) for enteric adenovirus and 4.5% (11/243) for astrovirus. The positive samples of 4 pathogens accounted for 49.9%, 32.1%, 9.3% and 8.5% of total positive samples (including 10 co-infections, accounting for 7.8% of total positive samples).Most cases were children aged2 years. The differences in virus detection rate among different age groups had statistical significance (2 =13.397, P=0.009). The incidence peal varied with virus. The gender specific difference in attack rate had no statistical significance (2=0.220, P0.05). Conclusion Rotavirus and calicivirus were the major pathogens causing viral diarrhea in children. The detection rate of 4 pathogens was highest in age group 12-18 months. The seasonal detection rate was highest in December. Co-infections were detected too.