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Incidence and risk factors of paediatric rotavirus diarrhoea in northern Ghana.
- Source :
-
Tropical Medicine & International Health . Sep2003, Vol. 8 Issue 9, p840-846. 7p. - Publication Year :
- 2003
-
Abstract
- We measured the type-specific incidence of paediatric rotavirus diarrhoea in an area of northern Ghana. Over 1 year, diarrhoea 1717 episodes were identified, of which 677 (39%) were positive for rotavirus. Risk factors for rotavirus infection included old age, wasting, high Vesikari score and the episode occurring in the dry season. Rotavirus-positive episodes tended to be more acute, causing vomiting and greater dehydration, and were more likely to require hospitalization. The incidence was 0.089 episodes per person-year for all diarrhoea, and 0.035 for rotavirus diarrhoea. The observed incidence decreased markedly with distance from the nearest health centre, suggesting a large unobserved burden. G2P[6], G3P[4] and G9P[8] made up more than half the genotypes detected, but the remainder were diverse. There is a large burden of rotavirus diarrhoea, but the effectiveness of future vaccines could be diluted by the high polymorphism of the virus, and the difficulty of reaching remote populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 13602276
- Volume :
- 8
- Issue :
- 9
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Tropical Medicine & International Health
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 138824135