A study of rotavirus infection in acute diarrhoea in children less than 5 years of age

: Diarrhoeal diseases account for an estimated 1.5 million deaths globally every year making it the second leading cause of childhood mortality. In India 1 out of every 250 children die of rotavirus diarrhea each year.: To find out the incidence of rotavirus infection in acute diarrhoeal cases in children under 5 years of age.: A prospective study was conducted on 100 non repetetive stool samples of Children under 5 years of age, presenting with acute diarrhea and hospitalized in the pediatric ward, during December 2015 to November 2016. Stool samples were processed according to premier rotaclone enzyme immunoassay protocol for the detection of rotavirus antigen, adhering to standard laboratory precautions.: The incidence of acute diarrhoeal diseases was 5.86% in our setting. was detected in 29% cases by ELISA method.The antigen detection by EIA is a reliable test, as it is quantitative and also has high sensitivity and specificity. Hence, can be routinely employed to prevent major morbidity and mortality among children, especially less than 5 years of age.

Prevalence of Diarrhoeal Diseases among Under-Five Paediatric Patients in a Tertiary Health Care Facility, South Eastern Nigeria: A 5-Year Review

Background: Diarrhoeal disease remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children, especially in developing countries. Although Nigeria has already achieved remarkable progress in reducing under-five mortality in the last decades, studies done in different parts of Nigeria had shown that diarrhoea is still a major public health problem. Objectives: This study aimed at determining the prevalence of diarrhoea in under-five children who presented to Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Neni through the period of January 2016 - December 2020, a 5-year review. It is also aimed at noting the influence of other socio demographic factors such as age, sex and seasonal variation on the occurrence of diarrhoeal diseases. Methods: A retrospective study design was used as patients’ records were obtained from the medical records for the said duration of study and a pro forma was used in extracting needed information. Results: A total of 128 cases of diarrhoeal disease were recorded out of the 897 under-five aged children that visited the hospital at the said period of study. Thus with a prevalence of 14.27%. Higher number of cases were recorded in the dry season 96 (75.0%) than the wet season; 32 (25.0%) cases. More males were affected; 78(60.1%) than females;50 (39.1%). Children aged 0-11 months were affected more; 62 (48.4%) followed by those within the age bracket of 12-23 months 32(25.0%) with those within the ages 48-59months having the least number of cases; 8 (6.3%). Conclusions: From the study it was concluded that diarrhoea occurs more in the dry season in this region than in the wet season. It was also concluded that the general risk of diarrhoeal disease decreases with increasing age in children and toddlers are the most at risk group of suffering the disease.

Comparison of machine learning algorithms applied to symptoms to determine infectious causes of death in children: national survey of 18,000 verbal autopsies in the Million Death Study in India

Background Machine learning (ML) algorithms have been successfully employed for prediction of outcomes in clinical research. In this study, we have explored the application of ML-based algorithms to predict cause of death (CoD) from verbal autopsy records available through the Million Death Study (MDS). Methods From MDS, 18826 unique childhood deaths at ages 1–59 months during the time period 2004–13 were selected for generating the prediction models of which over 70% of deaths were caused by six infectious diseases (pneumonia, diarrhoeal diseases, malaria, fever of unknown origin, meningitis/encephalitis, and measles). Six popular ML-based algorithms such as support vector machine, gradient boosting modeling, C5.0, artificial neural network, k-nearest neighbor, classification and regression tree were used for building the CoD prediction models. Results SVM algorithm was the best performer with a prediction accuracy of over 0.8. The highest accuracy was found for diarrhoeal diseases (accuracy = 0.97) and the lowest was for meningitis/encephalitis (accuracy = 0.80). The top signs/symptoms for classification of these CoDs were also extracted for each of the diseases. A combination of signs/symptoms presented by the deceased individual can effectively lead to the CoD diagnosis. Conclusions Overall, this study affirms that verbal autopsy tools are efficient in CoD diagnosis and that automated classification parameters captured through ML could be added to verbal autopsies to improve classification of causes of death.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Mothers of Children Below Five Years Regarding Diarrhoea

Background: The public health problem of diarrhoeal diseases is widespread. In order to reduce related mortality and morbidity, caretakers must play an active role and need to determine to what extent they are empowered. Method: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted from March 7- April 6, 2021 among 113 mothers of children below five years who visited hospital-seeking treatment for diarrhoeal diseases of their children. A self-structured questionnaire regarding knowledge, attitude and practice regarding was used to generate data on interview basis. Results: Knowledge regarding the diarrhoeal disease was found to be of good level (88.4% correctly defining diarrhoea). Majority of mothers has good attitude towards diarrhoea. However, far few mothers correctly recognised signs of dehydration, 23 recognizing dry mucosa and 44 recognizing sunken eyes. Out of total, 81% participants knew about oral rehydrate solutions. Conclusion: Despite good knowledge and attitudes towards diarrhoea among mothers with children under five years of age, the standard of home-based management was found to be unsatisfactory based on the results of the study.

Rotavirus Infection as Cause of Diarrhoea in Under-3- Years Children at Siddhartha Medical College, Vijayawada AP - A Hospital Based Cross Sectional Study

BACKGROUND Diarrhoeal diseases are significant public health problems that lead to morbidity and mortality of infants and children particularly in developing countries and developed countries too. Rotavirus is the most important virus responsible for severe diarrhoea among young children. India being a developing country, the incidence of diarrhoeal diseases is high. In this part of Andhra Pradesh, low socioeconomic status, bad feeding, and child-rearing practices along with malnutrition contribute to the high morbidity and mortality due to diarrhoeal disease caused by rotavirus infection. METHODS This cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted from January 2018 to December 2018 in the Department of Paediatrics, Old Government Hospital, Siddhartha Medical College, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh after obtaining ethical clearance from Ethical and Research Committee of our institute. One hundred (100) children, fulfilling the selection criteria who were admitted in the three paediatric wards were the subjects of study. RESULTS In this present study, the incidence of rotavirus infection was high in children aged ≤ 12 months and least in children between the age group of 25 to 36 months. In our study, we found that majority of cases with rotavirus infection occurred from September to February (60 %). Reverse transcription – polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test done for the 24-enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) test negative samples of this study group. Out of 24 ELISA negative samples, PCR detects 4 samples as positive as PCR test is more sensitive than ELISA. CONCLUSIONS Rotavirus diarrhoea is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis (GE) in children below five years of age in most regions of India. In this part of Andhra Pradesh, the low socioeconomic status, bad feeding, and child-rearing practices along with malnutrition contribute to the high morbidity and mortality due to diarrhoeal disease caused by rotavirus infection. This data on rotavirus disease burden may likely support evidence-based decisions regarding any further intervention. KEYWORDS Rotavirus, Diarrhoea, Diarrhoeal Diseases, Gastroenteritis (GE) Children, RT-PCR

Trends in Diarrhoeal Diseases, City of Bulawayo Clinics, 2007-2012

Diarrhoeal Diseases Are A Public Health Concern And Constitute About 5% Of All Main Causes Of Out-Patient Department Visits In The City Of Bulawayo. We Conducted A Dataset Analysis Of Diarrhoeal Diseases To Determine How The Trends Have Varied Over The Years. A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study Based On An Electronic Database For Diarrhoeal Diseases (2007-2012) Was Conducted. Data Was Collected Using Compilation Forms And Checklists, Then Analysed Using Microsoft Excel. Three Key Informants Were Interviewed. The Formula, (Mean + 1.5SD), Was Used To Calculate Thresholds For Bloody Diarrhoea. There Were More Watery Than Bloody Diarrhoeal Cases Throughout The Review Period, With 2008 Having The Highest Number Of Such Cases Under 5. In Northern Suburbs, There Was A General Decrease In Both Types Of Diarrhoea Cases In Both Age Groups (<5 And >5) Whilst In Emakhandeni; There Was An Increase In Bloody Diarrhoea Incidence After 2009. The Incidence Rate For Bloody Diarrhoea Was Higher For Females Throughout. There Was An Increase In The Number Of Stool Specimens Collected For Examination Between 2008 And 2012. Overall, There Was A Decrease In The Incidence Of Diarrhoea In Bulawayo City, Partly Due To Regular Anti-Diarrhoeal Campaigns. Following The Study, The Following Measures Were Implemented: Health Education To Improve Hygienic Practices; Advocacy For Improved Water And Sanitation In Cowdray Park; Rotavirus Vaccination For Under-Fives; Maintenance Of All Records On Diarrhoea And Up To Date Thresholds In All Clinics For Use In Monitoring Diarrhoea.