prevalence of rotavirus, adenovirus, and astrovirus infections among patients with acute gastroenteritis in, northern iran

background: the aim of the study was to determine the incidence of non-bacterial acute gastroenteritis associated with diar­rheal diseases in mazandaran province, northern iran. methods: a total of 400 symptomatic cases from patients with acute gastroenteritis from mazandaran province in iran were screened using eia method for the presence of rotavirus, adenovirus and astrovirus during 2005-2006. chi-square tests were used for testing relationships between different variables. results: rotavirus, adenovirus and astrovirus were detected in 62%, 2.3%, and 3% of samples, respectively. the maximum rate of rotaviruses was detected in the <1-year-old age group, while minimum rate was found in the 10 years and older age group. astrovirus and adenovirus were detected predominantly in the 2-5-year-old age group of children, with a prevalence of 8.3% and 3.5% respectively. all studied viral gastroenteritis peaked in the winter, and minimum rate were found in summer. conclusion: our statistical analyzes indicated that viral gastroenteritis, especially rota-viral, had the highest number of occurrences in colder seasons notably in winter and more frequently were observed among younger children.