Prostaglandins in the plasma and stool of children with rotavirus gastroenteritis

To investigate whether prostaglandins (PGs) are involved in the mechanism of rotavirus diarrhea, PGE2 and PGF2 alpha concentrations in the plasma and stool of children (21 and 16, respectively) with rotavirus gastroenteritis were measured and compared with those of their respective controls. The effect of aspirin on the diarrhea was also studied in 14 patients with rotavirus gastroenteritis. The PGE2 and PGF2 alpha contents of both the plasma and the stool of patients with rotavirus gastroenteritis were significantly higher than in the plasma and stool of the control group. Furthermore, aspirin given by mouth caused the diarrhea to cease earlier. These results suggest that PGE2 and PGF2 alpha are involved as important mediators in the causative mechanism of rotavirus diarrhea.     

Candidate rotavirus vaccine (rhesus rotavirus strain) in children: an evaluation

Fifty children, 3 months to 12 years of age, were given an experimental, orally administered, live attenuated rotavirus vaccine. Overall evidence of vaccine effectiveness as judged by vaccine virus shedding or a serologic response was seen in 82% of vaccinees. No clinical illness was seen in the rotavirus vaccinees when compared with 40 concurrently studied control children. No transmission to control children was observed even with close daily contact in a day-care setting. Young infants, generally less than 1 year of age, who had not previously experienced wild-type rotavirus infection shed significantly more vaccine virus. Limitation of virus shedding in those already exposed may be related to a prompt copro-IgA response which was significantly elevated by three days after vaccination. In summary, the development of this rotavirus vaccine, rhesus rotavirus-MMU-18006, is a promising step in the development of immunoprophylaxis against this major enteric pathogen.     

Prospective study of the burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis in Danish children and their families

This was the first study to characterize the total burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) at both hospital and general physician (GP) clinics in Denmark, and also the first to confirm rotavirus (RV) as the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis (GE) among children <5 years in GP clinics nationwide. Several aspects of RVGE were reported, including the impact of RVGE on family life by changes in HRQoL and by the number of days absent from day care. RV was detected in 225 (63.6%) children, and the median number of days absent from day care was 5 days. In 43.0% of the families, at least one family member, a total of 170 individuals, experienced symptoms of acute GE. Reduced health-related quality of life was observed both among children and parents. Our data suggested that RVGE indirectly as well as directly is a major public health burden in Denmark and comparable with data from other European countries.     

Hospital surveillance of rotavirus infection and nosocomial transmission of rotavirus disease among children in Guinea-Bissau

BACKGROUND: Vaccination against rotavirus is protective against severe disease. Surveillance of rotavirus infection in developing countries might direct vaccination policy more efficiently. METHODS: We implemented WHO's generic protocols for hospital-and community-based surveillance of rotavirus gastroenteritis. From April 2001 to May 2002, and from January 2003 to June 2003, we conducted hospital surveillance for rotavirus infection at the only pediatric ward in the capital of Guinea-Bissau. Children less than 5 years of age admitted with diarrhea or developing diarrhea during hospitalization were enrolled in the study. Rotavirus infection was detected in the feces samples using an ELISA assay. Rectal swabs were also obtained and its use was validated against stool specimen. RESULTS: During the surveillance period, 161 cases of rotavirus infection were registered. During the season, rotavirus accounted for 35% of all hospitalized diarrhea cases. The rate of nosocomial disease was 1.6 per 1000 child-days (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02-2.51) with high rates for children aged 12 to 23 months of age (rate: 3.09; 95% CI = 1.47-6.48). Most of the rotavirus cases (93%) were in children less than 2 years of age and only 10 children aged less than 3 months were infected. Fever (risk ratio (RR) 1.56; 95% CI = 1.16-2.10) and vomiting (RR 1.38; 95% CI = 1.11-1.73) were more common in patients with rotavirus than in patients with nonrotavirus diarrhea. The case-fatality was 8%. Results from stool samples and rectal swabs were concordant in 96% of the pairs. Rectal swabs increased the detection of rotavirus cases by 6% and deaths by 33% over stool sample results. CONCLUSION: Rotavirus infections were confined to a 4-month period each year. It is an important cause of childhood diarrhea with high case-fatality ratio in Guinea-Bissau. The use of rectal swab appeared to increase the detection rate of rotavirus infection and the case-fatality rate. The high rate of nosocomial infections in hospitalized children emphasizes the need for prevention of disease.     

Astrovirus,adenovirus, and rotavirus in hospitalized children: prevalence and association with gastroenteritis

BACKGROUND: Agents of viral gastroenteritis such as astrovirus, rotavirus, and adenovirus are common pediatric pathogens accounting for many physician visits, hospital admissions, and nosocomial infections. Previous hospital-based prevalence studies have examined mainly symptomatic children. PURPOSE: To evaluate the prevalence of astrovirus, rotavirus, and adenovirus infections among hospitalized children less than 6 years of age, regardless of symptoms, and determine association with gastroenteritis. METHODS: From September 1998 to June 2000, stool specimens were collected twice weekly from children less than five years of age admitted to two wards in a tertiary-care children's hospital. A total of 480 samples were obtained from 309 hospitalizations. Stools were examined using antibody-based ELISA for astrovirus, rotavirus, and adenovirus. Clinical data was abstracted from patient records. RESULTS: Twenty one percent of the children had gastroenteritis symptoms at some point during their hospitalizations (43% were hospital acquired). Astrovirus was detected in 5.2% of all children compared to 6.8% with rotavirus and 0.8% with adenovirus serotypes 40 or 41. Nosocomial acquisition was common. Seventy five percent of astrovirus infections and 90% rotavirus infections were symptomatic. Astrovirus infections were significantly more likely to occur in younger infants and in children with compromised immunity. Rotavirus infections were significantly more likely to cause dehydration. In a three-year passive surveillance of gastroenteritis at the hospital, astrovirus and rotavirus infections peaked simultaneously in winter months. CONCLUSIONS: Rotavirus and astrovirus are common symptomatic infections on pediatric wards and contribute greatly to inpatient morbidity. Adenoviruses played a limited role in gastroenteritis in hospitalized children in this study.     

Adverse event following immunization (AEFI) surveillance in India: Position paper of Indian Academy of Pediatrics, 2013

Adverse event following immunization (AEFI) is a critical component of immunization program. The risk of AEFI with vaccination is always weighed against the risk of not immunizing a child. There is an evolving AEFI surveillance system in India for the vaccines delivered through ‘universal immunization program’ (UIP) of government sector, but the reporting remained suboptimal for long in the country, and there is almost no participation from private sector. The AEFI reporting from private sector will provide vital information on the safety of new and underutilized vaccines, not part of the UIP in India. The national guidelines are recently revised and updated. The Indian Academy of Pediatrics believes that pediatricians, especially in private sector have a crucial role to play with reporting of AEFI with newer/underutilized vaccines. Programmatic error, vaccine reaction, injection reactions, coincidental and unknown are the five broad categories of AEFI for programmatic purposes. The serious AEFIs (death, disability, cluster and hospitalization) need to be reported immediately and investigated in detail as per the laid down procedures. Once a serious AEFI happens, primary or urban health centre should be immediately informed by the pediatricians practicing in rural or urban areas, respectively. This advocacy paper from the academy provides guidelines to practitioners on how to report cases, and suggests ways for IAP members to help in ongoing efforts of the government in improving AEFI surveillance in the country. The details about the diagnosis and management of known/expected AEFI with UIP and newer vaccines shall be published later.     

我国五所城市儿童医院诺如病毒和轮状病毒腹泻的流行病学监测

目的 监测我国城市儿童诺如病毒和轮状病毒腹泻的临床流行特征.方法 2008年7月至2009年9月,我们在上海、杭州、广州、重庆和天津门诊急性腹泻儿童中进行一项前瞻性的流行病学调查,随机收集急性非细菌性痢疾样腹泻患儿粪便标本,用胶体金试剂盒检测A组轮状病毒,轮状病毒阴性标本进一步用一步法实时定量荧光RT-PCR方法检测诺如病毒G Ⅰ和GⅡ基因组.描述性分析诺如病毒和轮状病毒的检出率、季节流行规律和易感儿童年龄特征.结果 连续1年期间,共收集到标本5091份,轮状病毒检测阳性标本数为1563份,占30.7%,各地轮状病毒检出率分别为上海29.5%(268/916)、杭州36.1%(334/926)、广州26.3%(254/968)、重庆34.1%(359/1054)和天津28.2%(348/1233).诺如病毒在3528份轮状病毒阴性标本中检出数为1049份(29.7%),各地检出率分别为上海21.2%(136/642)、杭州31.3%(185/592)、广州24.2%(173/714)、重庆31.8%(221/695)、天津37.7%(334/885).估计诺如病毒在所有样本中检出率至少为20.6%(1049/5092).1049份诺如病毒株中,GⅡ基因型1036份(98.7%),G Ⅰ基因型16份(1.5%),3份标本同时检测到G Ⅰ和GⅡ型.1049例诺如病毒腹泻儿童年龄在1个月～14岁,年龄中位数10(13.9±16.9)个月,91.8%患儿≤2岁.1563例轮状病毒腹泻儿童年龄在1个月～11.3岁,92.5%患儿≤2岁,年龄中位数10(12.9±13.7)个月.年龄中位数比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05).轮状病毒流行高峰发生在秋冬季10月至次年2月份,而诺如病毒在北方天津地区流行高峰出现在冬春季(11月至次年4月),诺如病毒在上海、杭州和重庆自4月份开始活跃,流行高峰常在夏秋季7至10月份,而在广州地区除春季散发外其他季节都有较为显著的流行.结论 轮状病毒和诺如病毒是我国婴幼儿腹泻主要的病毒病原.全国轮状病毒高峰季节基本一致,但是诺如病毒流行季节因地区而异,北方冷季呈现流行高峰,东部和西南部地区主要在夏秋季最流行,南方夏秋季和冬季都可出现较强的流行.     

Childhood cancer incidence in India betweem 2012 and 2014: Report of a population-based cancer registry

Objectives

To provide an overview of childhood cancer incidence in India between 2012-2014.

Methods

Secondary data analysis on age-adjusted rates of cancer incidence for children (0-14 years) were collected from the report of the National Cancer Registry Programme in the year 2016.

Results

Age-adjusted rates of childhood cancer incidence ranged from 18.5 per million in the state of Nagaland to 235.3 per million in Delhi for boys. The rates were 11.4 per million in East Khasi Hill district and 152.3 per million in Delhi for girls. Leukemia was the most predominant cancer for both boys and girls. Lymphoma was the second most common cancer in boys, and brain tumors in girls.

Conclusion

Childhood cancer incidence is increasing in India compared to population-based cancer registry survey of 2009-2011. Cancers are mostly affecting 0-4 years age group, and there is a rising trend of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.