[Clinical and epidemiologic findings from a study of rotavirus infections in hospitalized children].

The authors examined in 1986-1988 the aetiology of acute diarrhoea in 323 children hospitalized at the Infectious Diseases Clinic in Plzen. An infectious aetiology was proved in 47.7% of the children, the most frequently detected aetiological agent were rotaviruses which caused 28% of the recorded diseases. Their prevalence culminated in December--May; as to age, children between 7 and 24 months predominated. In 41.1% of the subjects with rotavirus infection respiratory symptoms were present all round the year, in 65.5% children transiently pathological transaminase values were recorded. Of 145 children where by laboratory methods nosocomial intestinal infections were monitored, this infection was contracted by 14 children (9.6%). The most frequent causal agent of these diseases were rotaviruses.