LAUSR

Acute gastroenteritis is the main cause of mortality and morbidity in children worldwide. Studies stated that rotavirus and human adenovirus (HAdV) are common causes of nonbacterial gastroenteritis in children aged 0−5 years. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and the distribution of rotavirus, HAdV, and coinfections among hospitalized children with gastroenteritis below 7 years old and determine the prevalence of enteric HAdV among all HAdV gastroenteritis. The study was conducted on 150 children below 7 years old. Antigen detection for rotavirus and HAdV by ELISA and determination of enteric HAdV (serotype 40 and 41) by nested PCR and restriction endonucleases study were performed. Detection of rotavirus and HAdV antigens in 150 stool specimens from patients with gastroenteritis were 58% (87), 6.7% (10), and 8% (12) positive for rotavirus, HAdV, and coinfection, respectively. Out of 22 HAdV antigen‐positive cases, 15 cases were positive by PCR for enteric HAdV, with the prevalence rate of enteric HAdV gastroenteritis among all HAdV gastroenteritis cases of 68%, a serotyping study by PCR detected serotype 40 in 46.7% of cases (7/15) and serotype 41 in 53.3% of cases (8/15) with no statistically significant difference between them. The study confirmed that rotavirus and HAdV are prevalent etiological agents of diarrhea in children below the school‐age group, highlighting the necessity of the rotavirus vaccine in addition to the obligatory schedule of vaccines in Egypt. Also, it determined that the enteric HAdV gastroenteritis prevalence rate was 68% among all HAdV gastroenteritis.