Best diagnostic modality for rotavirus diarrhea -

Rotaviruses infect enterocytes and are a major cause of diarrhoeal illness in young children worldwide. There are winter epidemics in developed countries, paicularly in nurseries. Adults in close contact with cases may develop disease. The incubation period is 48 hours and patients present with watery diarrhoea, vomiting, fever and abdominal pain. Dehydration is prominent. Diagnosis is aided by commercially available enzyme immunoassay kits, which require fresh or refrigerated stool samples. Immunity develops to natural infection. Monovalent and multivalent vaccines have been licensed in many countries and have now demonstrated efficacy in large trials in Africa and the Americas. The early diagnosis of human rotavirus infection is essential for effective patient management and infection control. We repo here a rapid, easy-to-perform, and inexpensive test for rotavirus detection. The viral RNA is extracted directly from the stools and electrophoresed on 1% agarose gels. Currently available immunoassays for routine diagnostic purposes are directed at the common group A-specific antigen. As repos become available on human gastroenteritis caused by the atypical or novel rotaviruses, this technique presents an added advantage in that it can detect both group A and non-group A rotaviruses. Ref - Harrison20th edition pg1067