Comparison of paediatric viral gastroenteritis at large medical centres in Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.

A comparison of the prevalence of viral diarrhoeas in children was made between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia over a three-year period. Laboratory data from Saudi Arabia were compared with those of a large medical centre in the UK. The prevalence ratios of virus-associated diarrhoea as a fraction of all diarrhoeal cases over three years were found to be 23% in the UK and 14% in Saudi Arabia. The relative proportion due to rotavirus and adenovirus was higher in the UK than in Saudi Arabia, but small round viruses were comparable at the two centres.