Relative frequency of norovirus infection in children suffering from gastroenteritis referred to Aboozar hospital, Ahvaz, Iran

Noroviruses belong to the Norovirus genus in the Caliciviridae family. Norovirusesare the most common causes of gastroenteritis and have a great impact on publichealth. They have been identified as a common cause of acute gastroenteritis in children. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Norovirus in childrensuffering from gastroenteritis.Patients and Fecal samples (n = 143) were collected from children under 5 years ofage who were suffering from gastroenteritis. All the children were referred to Ahvaz AboozarHospital, located in southwestern Iran. Norovirus RNA was extracted by Trizol, andRNA was detected using nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (nested-RT-PCR). Norovirus infection was detected in 9 of the 143 collected samples (6.3%). All positivesamples belonged to genogroup II. Five positive samples were obtained from malepatients and 4 were obtained from female patients. Most of the positive cases were frompatients between 3 and 5 yars of age (n = 5, 56%). There was no relationship between genderand virus prevalence. The rate of infection peaked in winter (n =6, 66.9%), and we did notdetect any positive cases in summer. The prevalence of this virus in Ahvaz is similar to that reported by other researchers.Because this virus is transmitted by contaminated food or water, we recommendadult education and improved personal hygiene to reduce the incidence of Norovirusinfection in children. This study improves our epidemiological knowledge of theprevalence of this virus in Ahvaz and Iran.