Eight different viral agents in childhood acute gastroenteritis.

Viral gastroenteritis is the most frequent cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) of childhood. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of viral agents including astrovirus, rotavirus, adenovirus, enterovirus, norovirus, parechovirus, Aichivirus and sapovirus in children with AGE in a pediatric Turkish population. Fecal specimens of 240 children with AGE were investigated by polymerase chain reaction, and viral agents were identified in 131 (54.6%) samples. The distribution of viral agents was as follows: 56 (42.8%) norovirus, 44 (33.6%) rotavirus, 29 (22.1%) enterovirus, 21 (16.0%) adenovirus, 21 (16.0%) parechovirus, 5 (3.8%) sapovirus and 1 (0.8%) Aichivirus. Single and multiple viral agents were detected in 38.8% and 15.8% of patients, respectively. The duration of hospitalization was longer in children with multiple viral agents than in those infected with a single viral agent (p<0.001). While the highest rate of rotavirus infection was detected in winter, the highest rate of norovirus was found in the summer. In conclusion, norovirus and rotavirus are the most frequent causes of childhood AGE in our country.