Alaaeldeen Balal Ahmed

Title : Frequency of rotavirus infection among vaccinated and non-vaccinated children with diarrhea in omdurman pediatric hospital, Sudan

Abstract:

Background: Rotavirus infection is the most common cause of severe diarrhea in young children and infants worldwide. Epidemiological knowledge concerning rotaviruses among infants and children is critical for the development of effective measures, including vaccines.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Omdurman Pediatric Hospital, Sudan, to investigate the frequency of rotavirus infection among vaccinated and non-vaccinated children and possible associated risk factors among children. The solid-phase sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect rotavirus antigens. A structured questionnaire was used to gather socio-demographic data.

Result: Out of 100 diarrheal cases, 21 were rotavirus-antigen positive (21%). Out of the 21 rotavirus-positive subjects, 22% (11/50) were non-vaccinated children, and 20% (10/50) were vaccinated children (P > 0.05). The second half of the first year of infancy showed the highest incidence (34.8%) of rotavirus infection, and the infection rate decreased with increasing age (P > 0.05). Children infected with rotaviruses were more likely to have vomiting (90.4%) (P > 0.05) and a fairly low frequency of fever (71.4%) (P > 0.05). Out of the 21 rotavirus-positive subjects, 5 (26.3%) were breastfed, 8 (34.8%) were both breast and bottle-fed, 5 (16.7%) were bottle-fed, and 3 (10.7%) were neither breast nor bottle-fed (P > 0.05). Furthermore, the non-treated children revealed the highest percentage of rotavirus antigen (25%) compared to the antibiotic-treated children (20.8%).

Conclusion: Rotavirus frequency was 21% (20% vaccinated and 22% non-vaccinated) among children younger than 5 years. There is an incidence of rotavirus infection among vaccinated children with the Rotarix vaccine against rotavirus infection. The use of a universal vaccine (multiple serotypes) is the most important preventive strategy.

Keywords: Rotavirus, Gastroenteritis, Diarrhea, Infants, Children

Biography:

Alaaeldeen Balal Ahmed studied for a bachelor's degree in medical microbiology at the Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan, and completed his master's degree in microbiology from the Sudan University of Science and Technology, Sudan, in 2014. Currently, he is a PhD candidate in medical microbiology and immunology at Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan. He is a lecturer, researcher, and clinical laboratory scientist. He has a fair amount of work and research articles in microbiology and immunology; his main research focuses on understanding intestinal immune-microbe interaction. He is a reviewer and an editorial board member for many journals. He is a member of many scientific societies (ASM, BSI, BSP, SQA, BSAC, ISID, SOHO, ASLM, ISN, and the Microbiology Society).