title: Epidemic viral enteritis in a long-stay children's ward.
abstract: Two outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis occurred in 1974 in a long-stay children's ward. Electron microscopy demonstrated rotaviruses in faeces from the affected children in the first outbreak, and adenoviruses in faeces from affected children and a nurse in the second outbreak. The illness in both outbreaks was very mild; but the diarrhoea associated with rotavirus infection usually lasted 5-8 days (in one patient it lasted for 28 days) and sometimes started with vomiting; whereas the adenovirus-associated diarrhoea lasted only 2-4 days and was not associated with vomiting. Neither the rotaviruses nor the adenoviruses could be established in tissue-culture.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000257:Adenoviridae Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004739:England; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007902:Length of Stay; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D012328:RNA Viruses / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012703:Serotyping; D013997:Time Factors; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D014839:Vomiting / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral