%0 Journal Article
%T The epidemiology of acute viral gastroenteritis in hospitalized children in Cordoba city, Argentina: an insight of disease burden
%A GIORDANO Miguel O.
%A FERREYRA Leonardo J.
%A ISA Mar¨ªa B.
%A MARTINEZ Laura C.
%J Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de S£¿o Paulo
%D 2001
%I Instituto de Medicina Tropical
%X Information concerning the disease burden of viral gastroenteritis has important implications for the use and monitoring the impact of public health policies. The present study, carried out in C¨®rdoba city, Argentina, documents the epidemiology of severe viral diarrhea as well as the burden of viral gastrointestinal disease in the hospital children admission. A total of 133 stools were collected from hospitalized children (Town Childhood Hospital) suffering from acute diarrhea and studied for the presence of Group A rotavirus, astrovirus and adenovirus 40/41 by enzyme-immuno assay, between November 1997 and October 1998. Enteric viruses accounted for 42.1% of the total diarrheal cases analyzed. Group A rotaviruses, astroviruses, adenoviruses 40/41 and mixed infections were found in 35.3, 4.5, 1.5, and 0.8% studied specimens respectively. We estimated that 1 in 27 children in the 0-35 month-old cohort/range would be annually hospitalized for a viral gastroenteritis illness. The major impact on viral diarrhea lies on rotaviral infection, accouting for 84.0% of the viral diarrheal cases analyzed and for approximately one third of severe diarrheas requiring hospital admission in C¨®rdoba City, Argentina.
%K Viral diarrhea
%K Children inpatients
%K Rotavirus
%K Astrovirus
%K Enteric adenovirus
%K Argentina
%U http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0036-46652001000400003