Ijaz M K, Alharbi S, Uduman S A, Cheema Y, Sheek-Hussen M M, Alkhair A R, Shalabi A G, Ijaz S S, Bin-Othman S A, Sattar S A, Liddle L F
Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, P.O. Box 17666, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Clin Diagn Virol. 1994 Oct;2(6):323-9. doi: 10.1016/0928-0197(94)90002-7.
Rotaviruses are the single most important causative agent of acute neonatal enteritis in most avian and mammalian species including humans. Rotaviruses infections have also been shown to be associated with the elderly, immunocompromised individuals and more recently with epidemic diarrheal illness in adults.
To study the incidence and the effect of seasonality on the prevalence of rotaviruses in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.
A total of 650 stool samples submitted to the laboratories of two University Teaching Hospitals (Al-Ain and Tawam) and a private hospital (Oasis) were examined for the presence of rotaviruses from January 1990-December, 1992, using a commercially available latex agglutination assay. The meteorological data (temperature, relative humidity and rainfall) recorded during the sampling period was analyzed statistically to examine the effect of seasonality on the prevalence of rotavirus cases in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Rotavirus was detected in 21.4% of the samples examined. The predominant number of positive cases (35%) were in the 7-12 months age group. It was interesting to find rotavirus-positive cases in as low an age group as < 3 months (3.6%) and as high as 10 years (8.04%). There was no significant difference on infection rates between male and female groups in the study. However, there was a significant difference between the national (38.18%) and non-national children (61.28%). The higher rate of the latter may be due to import of infections. There appeared to be a seasonal pattern of rotavirus occurrence in the cases studied, with a marked increase in the number of positive cases during the months when the relative humidity was low (25-45%) and there was no rainfall.
Rotavirus was detected in all age groups with a predominance in 7-12 month age groups, and a higher incidence in non-nationals. There was a marked increase in the number of positive cases during the months when the relative humidity was low (25-45%) and there was no rainfall. These findings are discussed in relation to the epidemiology and prophylaxis of rotavirus infections.
轮状病毒是包括人类在内的大多数禽类和哺乳动物急性新生儿肠炎的最重要致病原。轮状病毒感染还被证明与老年人、免疫功能低下者有关，最近还与成人流行性腹泻病有关。
研究阿联酋艾因市轮状病毒的发病率及季节性对其流行率的影响。
1990年1月至1992年12月期间，共有650份粪便样本被送至两家大学教学医院（艾因医院和塔瓦姆医院）及一家私立医院（绿洲医院）的实验室，采用市售乳胶凝集试验检测轮状病毒的存在。对采样期间记录的气象数据（温度、相对湿度和降雨量）进行统计分析，以研究季节性对阿联酋艾因市轮状病毒病例流行率的影响。
在所检测的样本中，21.4%检测出轮状病毒。阳性病例的主要数量（35%）出现在7至12个月龄组。有趣的是，在低至3个月以下（3.6%）和高至10岁（8.04%）的年龄组中都发现了轮状病毒阳性病例。研究中男性和女性组的感染率没有显著差异。然而，本国儿童（38.18%）和非本国儿童（61.28%）之间存在显著差异。后者的较高发病率可能是由于感染输入。在所研究的病例中，轮状病毒的出现似乎存在季节性模式，在相对湿度较低（25 - 45%）且无降雨的月份，阳性病例数量显著增加。
在所有年龄组中均检测到轮状病毒，以7至12个月龄组为主，非本国居民发病率较高。在相对湿度较低（25 - 45%）且无降雨的月份，阳性病例数量显著增加。结合轮状病毒感染的流行病学和预防措施对这些发现进行了讨论。
