Childhood diarrhoea in Ankara, Turkey: epidemiological and clinical features of rotavirus-positive versus rotavirus-negative cases

Published reports dealing with rotavirus infections in Turkey are very scarce. This study included 1099 consecutive paediatric patients with diarrhoea, who sought care at 3 hospitals in Ankara, Turkey between 1999 and 2002 and were investigated for the presence of rotavirus antigen in faeces. Rotavirus antigen was detected by an immunochromatographic test, Simple Rotavirus (Operon, Spain). Other clinical and laboratory data were extracted from patient journals. A total of 404 (36.8%) patients were positive for rotavirus antigen. Rotavirus antigen was more frequently detected in boys than girls (40.8 vs 31.8%) and in children younger than 2 y (62.7%). The proportion of rotavirus-positive children was higher in the winter season (49.6%; November to April) and the highest proportion was observed in December (55.4%). Rotavirus-associated diarrhoea had a more severe clinical presentation than non-rotaviral diarrhoea; 55.3% of all patients who required hospitalization were rotavirus-positive. The seasonal and epidemiological characteristics of rotavirus diarrhoea in Ankara were similar to those in the USA and Europe. For reliable nationwide information about the epidemiology of rotavirus-associated disease in Turkey, more individual studies and reliable official statistics of gastroenteritis cases are needed.