ASYMPTOMATIC ROTAVIRUS INFECTION IN NIGERIAN DAY-CARE-CENTERS

One hundred and sixteen stool specimens were collected from five day-care centres in Benin City, Nigeria, one each from children aged 6-48 months who were free from diarrhoea or any other acute illnesss. The ELISA method showed that 17.2% of the children had rotavirus in their stools. No rotavirus could be detected in the 19 children aged 6-12 months. The incidence of asymptomatic excretors in girls (19.1%) was slightly higher than in boys (15.9%), although this difference was not significant. Rotavirus was detected in children in all the day-care centres. This finding emphasizes the importance of better control of the proliferation of day-care centres and of surveillance of existing ones to enhance the provision of basic hygienic conditions. It also stresses the need for the development of a vaccine against rotavirus and for its availability at low cost for vaccination of children in day-care centres, especially in developing countries where diarrhoea still leads to high morbidity and mortality.