Comparison of viral RNA electrophoresis and indirect ELISA methods in the diagnosis of human rotavirus infection.

It has been estimated that roughly 420,000 children under five years of age die annually in Latin America, most of the victims being less than a year old. Diarrhea1 disease syndromes are believed responsible for roughly one-fifth of these deaths (I). The numbers of actual diarrhea1 disease cases reported have been relatively low (on the order of 250,000 cases per year) because of statistical underregistration in some countries. Nevertheless, even these figures give some idea of this health problem’s importance (2). In Chile, it has proved possible to isolate the probable causative agents (bacteria, parasites, or viruses) in approximately 60% of the infant diarrhea cases subjected to investigation. Nevertheless, even when modem laboratory techniques are applied, in a significant share of the cases the etiology remains uncertain (3). This circumstance directs attention to the importance