Prevalence of Rotavirus in Acute Diarrhoea among Children Under-Five Years, in Benin City, Nigeria

Background: Diarrhoea is one of the major causes of child morbidity and mortality especially in developing countries and has been reported as the cause of endemic viral diarrhoea in Nigeria. Aim : The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of rotavirus as a cause of endemic viral diarrhoea among under-five children in Benin City Nigeria. Study Design : A total of four hundred and seventy (470) children below five years with diarrhoea within the preceding two weeks and who had no underlying disease as cause of diarrhoea were recruited in a study that lasted one year. Methodology : Stools were collected for rotavirus antigen studies using ELISA and further analyzed with RT-PCR for electrophoretypes. Results: Sixty-five (13.8%) of the stools tested positive for rotavirus antigen using ELISA. While ninety (19.2%) stools were analysed using electrophoresis. RT-PCR electrophoresis using VP7 primers showed G1 = 49/90 (54.4%), G2 = 26/90 (28.9%), G3 = 19/90 (21.1%), G4 = 34/90 (37.8%) and G9 = 8/90 (8.9%) as the prevalent genotypes. Conclusion : It is concluded that rotavirus still remains an important cause of diarrhoea in under five children in Benin City. Although this study suggests a decline when compared with previous studies in this center, variations are well reported in incidence of rotaviruses both seasonally and periodically even in the same geographical area. However, it is recommended that rotavirus vaccine be introduced as a means of protecting children from rotavirus infection. In developing a vaccine, strains peculiar to this environment should be considered. Facilities such as PCR electrophoresis which are more sensitive could be more useful, where affordable, in detecting rotavirus in stools than ELISA in prevalence studies while however taking the cost into consideration. Key Words : Prevalence; Rotavirus; Under-five; Diarrhoea; Benin City.