ASTROVIRUS INFECTION IN CHILDREN IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

Authors

  • C. I Ayolabi
  • D A Ojo
  • I Akpan

Keywords:

Astrovirus, diarrhoea, Children, Lagos

Abstract

A preliminary investigation was conducted to screen for astrovirus in Lagos. Two hundred and fifteen (215) faecal samples collected from children under 5 years old with diarrhoea (161) and without diarrhoea (54) admitted at paediatric clinics in Lagos State were studied. The stool specimens were examined for the presence of human astrovirus antigen using a monoclonal antibody-based ELISA (Astrovirus RIDASCREEN® r-Biopharm, Germany) technique. Astrovirus was detected in 40.4 percent (65/161) of the diarrhoeal stools compared to 11.1 percent (6/54) of the control specimens. Astrovirus was found to infect younger children and about three quarter of the children infected was under 12 months of age. The prevalence of infection decreases with age group and was statistically significant (P = 0.0470). Although, prevalence of infection is more in males than females but this is not significant. This study shows that astrovirus is an important agent of acute gastroenteritis among children in Lagos state.

Author Biography

C. I Ayolabi

Department of Microbiology, University of Lagos, Nigeria

Downloads

Published

2011-08-24

How to Cite

Ayolabi, C. I., Ojo, D. A., & Akpan, I. (2011). ASTROVIRUS INFECTION IN CHILDREN IN LAGOS, NIGERIA. African Journal of Infectious Diseases (AJID), 6(1), 1–4. Retrieved from https://journals.athmsi.org/index.php/AJID/article/view/1401

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2012)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution CC BY This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered. Recommended for maximum dissemination and use of licensed materials. View License Deed | View Legal Code Authors can also self-archive their manuscripts immediately and enable public access from their institution's repository. This is the version that has been accepted for publication and which typically includes author-incorporated changes suggested during submission, peer review and in editor-author communications.