[Rotavirus in newborns less than 24 hours of age].

During 22 months, 687 samples, including feces and meconium of patients from the baby nursery (group A--236 samples) and from newborns seen in the outpatient clinic (group B--451 samples), were submitted to ELISA, PAGE, and ME, searching for rotavirus and were also cultivated for bacteria, at the HUAP (UFF). Nonsymptomatic newborns were the only positive cases for rotavirus, a rate of 2.11%. Contamination at delivery was suspected, but there was no correlation between either cesarean or vaginal labor and maternal diarrhea with newborn diarrhea after delivery. Klebsiella pneumoniae was the main bacteria in the symptomatic babies from the ward.