An outbreak of group C rotavirus gastroenteritis among children attending a day-care centre in Belém, Brazil.

Abstract

In August 1993, an outbreak of group C rotavirus-associated gastroenteritis occurred among children attending a day-care centre in Belém, Brazil. Of the 64 children, 21 (33%) became ill. Group C rotavirus was identified in faecal specimens from 8 (38%) children with diarrhoea by electron microscopy (EM) and an enzyme immunoassay (EIA), using antibodies specific to the Cowden strain of porcine group C rotavirus. By polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), a pattern similar to that of group C rotavirus was observed in 5 (62.5%) of the 8 EM- and EIA-positive samples. These 5 faecal samples were confirmed to be positive for group C rotavirus by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, using specific VP6 and VP7 primers. This is the first report of an outbreak of diarrhoea in North Brazil associated with group C rotavirus. These findings suggest that group C rotavirus may be an important aetiological agent of diarrhoea in this region, which requires further study.