Diarrhea due to Rotavirus and Probability of Sewage Contamination

Rotavirus, the second major cause of gastroenteritis in infants and children has been investigated in 166 diarrheal disease patients and 10 sewage samples obtained from different localities of Karachi. It was observed that highest incidence (40%) of rotavirus occur in infants up to one year and the incidence decrease with age. In general, the incidence of rotaviral infection is significantly high among infants and children up to 5 years of age as compared with 16.6% for adults. Evidence has been presented about the presence of rotavirus in 60% sewage samples analyzed.