Enteric viruses are the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in young children and a significant public health problem globally. Hospital admissions of children under 5 years of age with diarrhea are primarily associated with group A rotavirus (RVA) infection. In this retrospective study, the population structure of viruses linked to AGE etiology in young children hospitalized with AGE in Moscow was evaluated, and molecular characterization of RVA strains was performed. Fecal specimens were collected from children under 5 years old hospitalized with AGE between 2009 and 2014 in Moscow, Russia. Multiplex real-time reverse transcription PCR was used to detect enteric viruses and for G/[P]-genotyping of isolated RVAs. Sequencing of RVA VP7 and VP4 cDNA fragments was used to validate the data obtained by PCR-genotyping. The main causes for hospitalization of children with AGE were RVA (40.1%), followed by noroviruses (11.4%), while adenoviruses, astroviruses, sapoviruses, enteroviruses, and orthoreoviruses were detected in 4.7%, 1.9%, 1.4%, 1.2%, and 0.2% of samples tested, respectively. Nosocomial infections, predominantly associated with RVAs and noroviruses, were detected in 24.8% of cases and occurred significantly more frequently in younger infants. The predominant RVA genotype was G4P[8], detected in 38.7% of RVA-positive cases, whereas genotypes G1P[8], G9P[8], G3P[8], and G2P[4] were found in 11.8%, 6.6%, 4.2%, and 3.3% of cases, respectively. Together, the presence of circulating RVA strains with rare VP7 and VP4 gene variants (G6 and P[9]) highlights the need to conduct continuous epidemiological monitoring of RVA infection.

Objective:to study the features of the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of whooping cough in children in the Samara region.Materials and methods: 389 cases of pertussis in the Samara region for 2015–2016 were analyzed.Results: it is shown that in spite of 95–98% vaccination coverage, in recent years there has been an increase in the incidence of whooping cough. Seasonality of morbidity remains. Among the children observed, the youngest children were not vaccinated against pertussis. The clinical picture of the disease remains typical with the classic course of catarrhal and spasmodic periods. Moderately severe forms of the disease predominate. Complications were noted mainly in unvaccinated children of the first year of life. The most frequent complications were pneumonia and apnea. There is a hypodiagnosis of pertussis in outpatient conditions. Infection often occurs under the mask of ARVI, while the sensitivity of the bacteriological method of diagnosis is zero. Of the methods for confirming the diagnosis, the most reliable is ELISA and PCR.Conclusion: these epidemiological and clinical features of pertussis current testify to the need to further improve methods of early diagnosis, especially express methods, etiopathagenetic treatment, specific prevention, antiepidemic measures in the foci of infection.

Introduction. Rotavirus infection is the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis in young children. Due to the lack of etiotropic treatment of viral gastroenteritis, the interest of scientists and practitioners in the use of antiviral drugs is increasing. Studies of domestic authors have proven that the low molecular weight interferon inductor – meglumine acridonacetate has antiviral, immunoregulatory and anti-inflammatory activity.Aim. Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of the antiviral drug meglumine acridonacenate in the treatment of acute gastroenteritis of rotavirus etiology in children aged 4–7 years in a hospital setting.Materials and methods. A prospective analysis of cases of treatment with meglumine acridonacetate for moderately severe rotavirus gastroenteritis in preschool children (n = 29, group I) was carried out. The comparison group consisted of patients receiving standard therapy (n = 31, group II). The presence of rotavirus infection was confirmed by the detection of the pathogen antigen in the feces. Meglumine acridonacetate was prescribed according to the scheme, parenterally, every other day.Results and discussion. The effectiveness of therapy with an antiviral drug on the 3rd day of treatment of moderately severe rotavirus gastroenteritis was 79.3% (p < 0.05). The elimination of the main clinical symptoms of the disease was noted on days 2–3: a decrease in the symptoms of intoxication, fever, a significant decrease in the duration of vomiting and diarrhea (p < 0.05), a reduction in the pathogen elimination period by 2.67 days (p < 0.01), meglumine acridonacetate was well tolerated, no side effects of the drug were detected.Conclusions. Meglumine acridonacetate can be recommended for the complex treatment of moderate rotavirus infection from the first days of the disease.

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