Prevalence and Risk Factors of Rotavirus Infection among Children Less than Five Years of Age in Abuja Satellite Towns, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Rotavirus infection is a major cause of gastroenteritis in children less than 5 years of age. Its symptoms include diarrhea, fever, abdominal pains and vomiting which often time results in dehydration and metabolic changes in the body.  Transmission is mainly orofeacal and sometimes by respiratory droplets. This study was designed to determine the prevalence of rotavirus and risk factors in children less than 5 years in Abuja satellite towns, Nigeria.  Methods: This was a cross – sectional study carried out from October 2013-September 2014 involving 144 children below the age of 5 years. Children who presented with acute gastroenteritis were recruited for the study. Watery or semisolid stool samples were collected from patients using a sterile spatula and two aliquots of the each stool sample was made which was thereafter stored at -95°C until assayed. The ELISA microplate assay kit (Oxoid, Bassingstoke-Hants, United Kingdom) was used to detect the rotavirus antigen in each sample. Descriptive and inferential statistics of data was done using SPSS (Chicago, IL, SPSS Inc., 2007). The variables were compared using Chi-Square and fisher’s exact test at 95% CI and p-value less than or equal to 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 144 children, aged between 1 month and 60 months with gastroenteritis participated in this study. They comprised of 82 males and 62 females. Of these, 25% of the patients were positive for human rotavirus antigen in their stool samples. The distribution of rotavirus infection among the FCT area councils showed 12(8.3%) in Gwagwalada, 8(5.6%)  Kubwa while 7(4.9%), 5(3.5%), and 4(2.8%) Nyanya, Bwari and karishi respectively. Analysis of the age distribution of children affected by rotavirus showed that the highest prevalence of rotavirus was in children aged between 0-10 months old, 20(55.56%). The results showed that 36(25%) of the children were infected with rotavirus and none of the patients were vaccinated.  Seasonal changes experienced revealed that infection starts from October and fluctuates between November and March, reaching its peak by April. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed a high prevalence of 25% rotavirus infection among the study population with high infection rate occurring in children under 10 months of age. Vaccination could be vital in preventing or reducing rotavirus infection in children.