Surveillance of Acute Gastroenteritis in Seoul, Korea, During May 2004 and June 2007

Abstract

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE), which is one of the most common diseases worldwide, primarily occurs in infants and young children in both developed and developing countries. To investigate the prevalence of AGE in Korea, 6,788 stool specimens collected from hospitalized patients with AGE in Seoul, Korea from March 2004 to June 2007 were analyzed by enzyme immunoassay, reverse transcription-PCR, DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Enteric viruses and bacteria were detected in 2,955 (43.5%) and 1,389 (20.5%) specimens, respectively. Among the enteric viruses detected, rotavirus (19.7%) and norovirus (18.9%) were the predominant causative agents, followed by adenovirus (2.5%) and astrovirus (2.4%). Staphylococcus aureus was the most commonly observed bacteria (8.0~19.2%). The epidemic peaks of the enteric viruses were October to December for norovirus, January to May for rotavirus, and August to October for adenovirus. The seasonal activity of rotavirus was shifted from winter to late spring. However, astrovirus did not display seasonal activity in this study. Although viral AGE primarily occurred in patients younger than 5 years of age, the incidence of viral AGE in children aged 6 to 14 years was significant. The results of this study will contribute to the currently available epidemiological data and improve public health and hygiene via amelioration of diagnostic methods and longitudinal surveillance.

A Clinico-Epidemiological Comparison Study of Pediatric Acute Viral Gastroenteritis at a Tertiary Care Hospital

“…An acute portant causative viral agents [3]. In our study, the overall prevalence of viral gastroenteritis was 44.8%, a finding that agrees with previous studies.…”

“…More cases are needed to evaluate the significance of these symptoms. Similar to what was found in previous studies, diarrhea was significantly associated with rotavirus (93.7%), adenovirus (88.9%), and norovirus (65.6%) (P＜0.05) [1,3].…”

“…In South Korea, rotavirus, norovirus, enteric adenovirus, and astrovirus are the most commonly detected pathogens in patients with pediatric acute gastroenteritis. The detection rate has gradually increased [1,3,4]. Many survey reports have conducted for rotavirus, norovirus and adenovirus [5][6][7].…”

Prevalence of Viruses with Diarrhea among Hospitalized Children West Gyeonggi Province

“…In this study, viral gastroenteritis generally showed a double peak of incidence during spring and autumn. The peak incidence of rotavirus had been generally known as in winter 43,44) ; however, a delay in peak incidence of rotavirus has been reported in some studies [45][46][47] .…”

Changes in Anti-Group A Rotavirus Antibody Seroprevalence and Levels in the Western Gyeongnam Province of Korea Over 16 Years

“…This discrepancy may relate to the fact that the VP6-specific IgG levels produced by the Koreans participating in this study are higher than those generated by the Indians and Brazilians (11, 12). The surveillance of acute gastroenteritis in Seoul, Korea showed rotavirus is the most common pathogen in infants with viral gastroenteritis (42.7%, 496/1,161) (13). In a study of rotavirus surveillance testing on all the newborns who were admitted to the nursery in Korea, 47 of 61 neonates had no symptoms of gastroenteritis such as fever, vomiting and diarrhea (14).…”