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Incidence and risk factors of paediatric rotavirus diarrhoea in northern Ghana.

Authors :
Binka, Fred N
Anto, Francis K
Oduro, Abraham R
Awini, Elizabeth A
Nazzar, Alex K
Armah, George E
Asmah, Richard H
Hall, Andrew J
Cutts, Felicity
Alexander, Neal
Brown, David
Green, Jon
Gray, Jim
Iturriza-Gómara, Miren
Navrongo Rotavirus Research Group
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