title: Diarrheal diseases in Brazil: clinical features of rotavirus-associated gastroenteritis in children.
abstract: This study was undertaken to detect the presence of rotavirus in the stools of children with gastroenteritis, using the enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and to compare the signs and symptoms of rotavirus-positive and -negative children. Over a period of fifteen months, 367 children ranging in age from less than 1 month to 5 years or more with diarrhea and 86 children, in the same age group, without diarrhea and respiratory infections, used as controls, were evaluated. Human rotavirus was detected in 15.8% of children with diarrhea attending out-patient clinics and in 28.9% of patients seen by general practitioners. In the control groups, the percentages of identification of rotavirus were 1.4% and 5.5% respectively. Frequency of other enteropathogens was determined. The hydration state of diarrheal cases, different clinical symptoms and the type of medical attendance distinguished the rotavirus positive from the rotavirus negative patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University S. Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Rácz
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Candeias
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Trabulsi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Murahowski
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003681:Dehydration / Q000209:etiology; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000150:complications; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*