a cross-sectional study on the role of rotavirus and microbial co-infection in children with acute diarrhea in vietnam

Background: rotavirus is the leading cause of acute diarrhea in children. understanding co-infections with other bacterial or viral microorganisms alongside rotavirus is crucial. objectives: this study aimed to determine the frequency distribution of rotavirus infections and related co-infections in children with acute diarrhea. additionally, it sought to compare 2 groups: those with rotavirus mono-infection and those with microbial co-infections in terms of clinical and laboratory characteristics. methods: in this cross-sectional study, we collected a total of 171 rectal swabs at can tho children's hospital, can tho city, vietnam, from november 2022 to april 2023. we used real-time polymerase chain reaction (pcr) to detect infectious agents. patients underwent examinations and tests to assess clinical features and laboratory data. results: rotavirus was the most commonly detected agent (42.7%). the incidence of co-infection with other bacterial or viral microorganisms alongside rotaviruswas 45.2%. acute diarrhea caused by rotavirus significantly increased the percentage of children with watery stools (p = 0.004) and vomiting (p < 0.001) and led to a greater number of loose stools per day (p = 0.007) compared to cases without rotavirus. however, there were no significant differences in clinical features or laboratory data between cases with rotavirus mono-infection and those with co-infections involving other bacterial or viral microorganisms. conclusions: this study sheds light on the prevalence of rotavirus and co-infections in vietnam. among these findings, identifying rotavirus in children with acute diarrhea is more critical than detecting co-infecting agents.