Prevalence of Rotavirus and Adenovirus in Children with Acute Viral Gastroenteritis in Dakar, Senegal, 2018-2022

Background: Rotavirus infection is the most important cause of infectious, severe and dehydrating diarrhea and death in children aged 5 and under and continues to have a significant impact on child morbidity and mortality in our countries. The aim of this study was to retrospectively determine prevalence of rotavirus and adenovirus in patients presenting with gastroenteritis symptoms and the distribution of pathogens according to gender, age and season.

Materials and Methods: Stool samples received at the medical microbiology laboratory between January 2018 and December 2022 were evaluated for rotavirus/adenovirus antigen with BIOSYNEX Rotavirus/Adenovirus BSS kit (BIOSYNEX, Switzerland).

Results: Rotavirus was detected in 36 (6.96%) of the 517 stool samples evaluated and 16 (3.09%) samples were positive for adenovirus. Co-infection was detected in 10 samples (1.93%). Prevalence of rotavirus and adenovirus was 12.22% (28/229) and 4.80% (11/229) respectively in children aged 0-12 months. Our results showed a significant difference between the patients among the three study groups (rotavirus, adenovirus and mixed) with regard to their age categories. Regarding the monthly distribution, the highest detection rate of rotavirus gastroenteritis was found between the months of September (12.28%) and February (14.89%). Adenoviruses were detected continuously over a period from June to December with a significant difference (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of viral diarrhoea in children in our region and the morbidity and mortality that can be associated with it, it is important that medical laboratories are equipped to detect viruses specifically rotavirus and adenovirus for efficient management. All of these actions combined with vaccination will contribute to a significant reduction in the burden of these infections on our health system.