Prevalence and characteristics of severe rotavirus infections in Nicaraguan children.

We analyzed the prevalence of rotavirus in 296 children aged between 3 and 36 months who were hospitalized in 1994 with severe gastro-enteritis at two health centres for diarrhoea treatment in Leon, Nicaragua. Enteric viruses were detected in 96 (32.4%) of the children and rotaviruses were the most common pathogens detected in 84 (28%). The majority of rotavirus infections occurred in children less than 1 year old and all strains isolated belonged to subgroup II and had 'long' RNA patterns. Molecular epidemiology of 55 rotavirus strains revealed that all had the same RNA migration pattern and serotyping of 37 strains by PCR technology revealed that all isolates belonged to serotype 3. A significant observation was that only one electropherotype of rotavirus circulated. No non-group A rotaviruses were found by RNA gel electrophoresis. Adenoviruses were found by ELISA in 14 of 265 (5%) children and were most frequently detected during the 1st year of life. Of 103 faecal samples analyzed by electron microscopy, four contained small round structured viruses.