Pediatric gastroenteritis is a major cause of childhood mortality and morbidity worldwide, especially
in developing countries. Diarrhoea can be caused by a variety of different pathogens including
bacteria, viruses and parasites. Among the viruses; Rotavirus has been extensively studied and is
responsible for 44% of GE cases. As the Rotavirus vaccination coverage improves, the causative
agent’s shift may be more towards the Calciviruses (Norovirus, Sappovirus) and other similar viruses,
and consequently the investigations should focus on these viruses in future. This study was conducted
in a Teaching hospital, Hyderabad, Telangana State included 118 cases of Gastroenteritis of which 6
cases were positive for Norovirus (NoV) i.e.; 5% of cases were NoV positive by RIDASCREEN EIA
and RIDA QUICK, the rapid test for NoV virus. These 6 cases were children between 7 months and
one and half year old. The age profile showed a fall in the number of diarrhoea cases as the child’s
age increases. 63 (53.3%) were male children and 55 (46.6%) were female children. In children < 2
years (n=83), 22 (26.5%) were breast fed, 30 (36.1%) were bottle fed and 7 (8.4%) were on mixed
Alimelu M, Radha Mohan M., Vindhya Tuladi, Sudhershan Reddy P, Shailaja V.V., Preeti Nagaraj G. Prevalence of
Norovirus and epidemiology of acute gastroenteritis in children. IAIM, 2016; 3(6): 157-163.
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feeds. Among mothers 25.42% never washed their hands with soap, 60.16% used soap occasionally
and only 14.4% always used soap. 43.2 % presented with no dehydration, 27.96% presented with
some dehydration and 28.8% presented with severe dehydration. 70.3% of mothers continued to feed
during diarrhoea. Regarding the treatment used for diarrhoea before admission in hospital, 42.37%
used ORS, 27.11% used both ORS and antibiotics, 55.08% were on antibiotics and 11% took no
treatment at all.