Age distribution and seasonal pattern of rotavirus infection in children in Kenya.

The age distribution and seasonal pattern of rotavirus infection were investigated in infants and young children admitted with acute diarrhea at the Kenyatta National Hospital from December 1981 through June 1983. They had acute diarrhea of not more than 10 days duration and had not received antibiotic treatment. Presence of rotavirus in stool was detected by using the WHO enzyme linked immnoabsorbent assay (ELISA) kit. The rotavirus isolation rate ranged from 14% to 54% in infants aged 1-12 months and peaked in the 6-12 month age group. Rotavirus peak incidences were observed in the January-March periods of both 1982 and 1983 which are times of hot, dry weather, with low relative humidity. These peak periods differ from results reported by Schoub et el. where no seasonal rotavirus infection variation in black infants in South Africa was observed. Other reports of rotavirus infection prevalence and weather conditions are cited. This study fails to show that rainfall influences the occurrence of rotavirus infection, as has been reported in Ethiopia by Stintzng et al.