Viral Diarrhoea

It is apparent from this review that great progress has been made over the past 10 years in defining the aetiology of viral diarrhoea. Rotavirus is a major cause of gastroenteritis in children, particularly during the winter months. However, if bacteriological and virological data are pooled, our current aetiological knowledge reveals that a pathogen is not detected in 20 to 30% of cases in most perennial investigations.

Now that human rotavirus has been cultured, complete characterization may be possible. However, practical methods for cultivating many of the other possible viral pathogens are needed before they can be characterized completely. Meanwhile, electron microscopy, although time-consuming, cumbersome and expensive, is the only method for detecting many of the other potential viral pathogens. We have much still to learn about the epidemiology of these agents, particularly in the developing countries, their importance in causing chronic diarrhoea, how they are transmitted, and the immune responses to infection. The development of a potential rotavirus vaccine is exciting and creates the possibility of control for this devastating disease.