Prevalence of Rotavirus Diarrhea in Children of Perak, Malaysia Salim Nurul Ain Binti Mohd1, Naik Durgadas Govind2, Fuad Maher D Fuad2 1School of Graduate Studies Management and Science University, Shah Alam, Malaysia 2International Medical School Management and Science University, Malaysia Online published on 15 December, 2017. Abstract Acute diarrheal diseases are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in children, especially in developing countries. Among the viral etiological agents, Rotavirus is the leading cause of diarrhea in infants and young children. Globally, every year, rotavirus infection accounts for estimated 500, 000 deaths. Rotavirus infection usually results in vomiting, diarrhea and fever. Dehydration and electrolyte imbalance are the common complications. A study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of rotavirus in children with diarrhea and without diarrhea in a rural area of Perak, Malaysia. Rotavirus rapid test rota strip (BioConcept, Belgium) kit was used to detect rotavirus in stool specimens of children of less than five years old. A total of 158 single stool specimen from each case was tested for rotavirus. Of the 60 diarrheal cases, 19 (32%) stool specimens tested positive for rotavirus. In 60 rotavirus positive cases, 17% had diarrhea with vomiting. Over all, of the 158 tested, 24 had taken vaccine to protect against rotavirus infection. The available two rotavirus vaccines proved to be safe and effective. Mortality and morbidity due to rotavirus infection could be reduced by vaccination. Rotavirus is an important cause of diarrhea in children of below 5 years, particularly in infants. The present study recorded the detection rate of 31.7% in children with diarrhea and 17.3% without diarrhea. A simple, rapid test is useful tool to detect Rotavirus from stool specimens of children especially in a rural area. Top Keywords Rota Virus, Prevalence, Diarrhea, Gastroenteritis, Vaccination, Rapid Test, Stool Specimen. Top |