Investigation of Rotavirus Genotypes in Children Under five Years With Acute Gastroenteritis in Kermanshah, Iran

Background and aims: rotavirus is one of the most important causes of acute diarrhea in children under five years. therefore, the diarrhea samples examination in children is necessary to diagnose the prevalence of rotavirus and determine the predominant genotype. the focus of this study was to investigate the prevalence of rotavirus and its predominant genotype in the population of children under five years with acute gastroenteritis in kermanshah, iran. materials and methods: between october to march 2017, 100 samples were collected and the rotavirus positivity was evaluated by vp6 expression. then, the dominant genotype in the positive samples was examined by multiplex seminested pcr with specially designed primers. results: 100 stool samples of children under 5 years with gastroenteritis were taken, 21 sample positive for rotavirus. the highest frequency of genotype was g1p8 (38.1%) and the lowest was g2p4 (14.3%). the most positive rotavirus samples were in the age group of 1-2 years and no rotavirus positive samples were found in the 4-5 age group. conclusion: rotavirus should be considered as an important agent in diarrhea of children, especially children under 1 year, and inappropriate use of antibiotics should be avoided. it is also recommended to determine the dominant genotype to provide a suitable situation for immunization of children against rotavirus in iran.