Rotavirus diarrhoea in children below 5 years of age

Background: diarrhoea is the second leading cause of childhood morta children under five years of age. group a rotavirus is known to be the le cause of severe diarrhoeal diseases and dehydration which often lea hospitalization of infants and young children throughout the world. objectives: to determine frequency and clinical feature of rotavirus watery diarrhoea (awd) in children below 5 years of age. study design: cross sectional study. setting: department of paediatrics unit-i,king edward medical university/ hospital,lahore. duration: six months (november 2009 to april 2010). sampling technique: non probability purposive sampling. subjects and methods: after consent from parents,180 children below 5 ye age,with awd,were included in the study. data were recorde demography,nutritional status,degree of dehydration and presen absence of rotavirus (eliza) in stool. results: among 180 children,48(27%) children had rotavirus awd. among 48 cases,45(93%) was below 2 years of age. there was male predomin (66.7%). according to z classification,6(12.5%) cases had severe malnu clinically,25(52.1%) children presented with severe dehydration. conclusion: the frequency of rotavirus diarrhoea is 27% in children below 5 of age. it is frequent in malnourished children. severe dehydration is one commonest presentations.