Rotavirus infection in calves, piglets, lambs and goat kids in Trinidad.

Faecal samples from diarrhoeic and non-diarrhoeic calves, piglets, lambs and goat kids were collected and screened by a latex agglutination test to detect the presence of group A rotavirus antigen. Of a total of 470 animals screened, 138 (29.4%) had faecal samples positive for rotavirus antigen. The prevalences of infection were 27.7% (73/264) in calves, 27.8% (45/162) in piglets, 48.6% (18/37) in lambs and 28.6% (2/7) in goat kids. Rotavirus antigen was not detected in calves and lambs < 1 week old and in piglets < 2 weeks old. The highest prevalence was found in calves between the ages 1-6 weeks (72.6%); piglets, 2-8 weeks (91.1%) and in lambs 1-8 weeks (88.9%). The overall prevalence of infection was 39.9% for diarrhoeic and 13.4% for non-diarrhoeic animals and the difference was statistically significant (P < or = 0.001; X2). Differences among husbandry systems in relation to the prevalence of rotavirus infection were not statistically significant (P > or = 0.05; X2). The relatively high prevalence of rotavirus infection in the young animals tested, coupled with the detected significantly higher infection rates in diarrhoeic animals, indicate that rotavirus may be important in livestock diarrhoea in Trinidad.