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Introduction: Rotavirus infections frequently cause acute gastroenteritis in humans and are the most important cause of severe dehydrating diarrhea in young children in both developed and developing countries. Methodology: This was a prospective cross-sectional, hospital-based study on 300 children ≤ 5 years with acute watery diarrhea who attended Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) and Nyamagana District hospital between May and November 2009. Stool specimens were tested for rotavirus infection using latex agglutination test. Data were cleaned and analyzed using SPSS 11.0. Results: Of 300 children with acute watery diarrhea, 136 (45.3%) were female and the mean age was 12.63 months (SD = 10.4). Sixty-two (20.7%) children were found to have rotavirus infection. Of children with severe malnutrition three (37.5%) were infected with rotavirus. Fifty-two (84%) of children with rotavirus infection were below two years of age. Severe dehydration was present in 48 (16%) children of whom 12 (25%) were infected with rotavirus compared to 18 (16.6%) of 109 children with no dehydration. Living next door to a child with diarrhea was highly associated with rotavirus infection (43% versus 19%; p = 0.036). The mean hospital stay among children with rotavirus infection was 3.66 days versus 2.5 days for those without rotavirus (p = 0.005). Conclusion: Rotavirus infection is prevalent in Mwanza region and contributes to prolonged hospital stay. Proper education on hygiene to control diarrheal diseases among children should be emphasized. Extensive studies to determine the serotypes of rotavirus are warranted in the region before rotavirus vaccine is introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although there has been a worldwide emergence and spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), little is known about the molecular epidemiology of MRSA in Tanzania. Methodology: In this study, we characterized MRSA strains isolated from clinical specimens at the Bugando Medical Centre, Tanzania, between January and December 2008. Of 160 S. aureus isolates from 600 clinical specimens, 24 (15%) were found to be MRSA. Besides molecular screening for the Panton Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes by PCR, MRSA strains were further characterized by Multi-Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) and spa typing. Results: Despite considerable genetic diversity, the spa types t690 (29.1%) and t7231 (41.6%), as well as the sequence types (ST) 88 (54.2%) and 1797 (29.1%), were dominant among clinical isolates. The PVL genes were detected in 4 isolates; of these, 3 were found in ST 88 and one in ST1820. Resistance to erythromycin, clindamicin, gentamicin, tetracycline and co-trimoxazole was found in 45.8%, 62.5%, 41.6%, 45.8% and 50% of the strains, respectively. Conclusion: We present the first thorough typing of MRSA at a Tanzanian hospital. Despite considerable genetic diversity, ST88 was dominant among clinical isolates at the Bugando Medical Centre. Active and standardized surveillance of nosocomial MRSA infection should be conducted in the future to analyse the infection and transmission rates and implement effective control measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]