Human rotavirus subgroups and severity of associated diarrhoea in Ghana.
In a 12 month study of children with acute diarrhoea seeking medical care in 2 hospitals in Accra, Ghana, 16.3% were found to be infected with human rotaviruses (HRV). Vomiting and diarrhoea were the main symptoms observed. HRV infection was frequently associated with severe diarrhoea. Vomiting was however less frequent in HRV associated diarrhoea than in non HRV diarrhoea. No significant association was observed between the severity of dehydration and HRV infection. Subgroup II HRV was the predominant subgroup identified with the dominant serotypes being HRV serotypes 1 and 4. Poly-acrylamide gel electrophoresis of HRV RNAs isolated from 40 positive stool samples revealed the existence of 7 distinct electrophoretic migration patterns in the study population.
Armah
George E.
GE
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, P. O. Box 25, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
Hori
Hiroki
H
Anyanful
Akwasi
A
Addo
Julius A.
JA
Commey
Joseph O.
JO
Kamiya
Hitoshi
H
Nkrumah
Francis K.
FK