Detection of Rotavirus Infection among Apparently Healthy Children in Jigawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks diarrhoeal disease as the second most common cause of morbidity and mortality in children in the developing world. This study aimed at detecting the prevalence of rotavirus infection among apparently healthy children in Jigawa State. A  total of 286 samples were randomly collected. These samples were assayed for rotavirus antigen using ProSpectEnzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent  Assay (ELISA) kit. The study revealed that 61(21.3%) samples were positive for rotavirus antigen. There was higher prevalence rate among male children 31(11.0%)  than females 30(10.3%) (p>0.05). The highest and lowest detection rates in rotavirus infection of 59%(36/61) and 3.3%(2/61) were found among children aged 0-3 years and 12-15 years (p>0.05) respectively. Most of the positive samples were during the cold dry season (42.6%) (p<0.05). The highest rate of rotavirus infection 30/61 (47.5%) was found among children who were from South West Area of Jigawa state. This study recommends the introduction of rotavirus vaccine into the Nigerian routine immunization programme and advocate parents to encourage their children to practice personal hygiene to avoid spread of rotavirus infection.