Objective. To investigate the epidemiology of neonatal viral gastroenteritis compared to
the circulation of enteric viruses in children, 109 newborns in the NICU of Mother and
Child Department and 214 children with enteritis admitted to the \u201cG. Di Cristina\u201d Children\u2019s
Hospital in Palermo were monitored for Rotavirus, Adenovirus, Astrovirus and Norovirus
infections.
Methods. Stool samples were examined by EIA to detect viral antigens. Rotavirus strains
were subjected to P- and G-typing.
Results. A Norovirus strain was detected in one neonatal stool specimen whereas an astrovirus
strain was dectected in two neonatal specimens. No Rotavirus or Adenovirus infection
was identified among the newborn infants, while Rotavirus infections were detected
in 24.8% of the symptomatic children. Type G4P[8] constituted 43.4% of the Rotavirus
strains, followed by G2P[4] (18.9%), G3P[8] (17%), G1P[8] (13.2%) and G9P[8] (1.9%).
Overall, Norovirus, Adenovirus and Astrovirus strains were responsible for 15.4% of infections
in the paediatric population with diarrhoea.
Conclusions. Viruses are diffuse agents of infection in children with enteritis. Virological
tests have to be performed to diagnose enteric infections in the paediatric population. Maternal
immunity to common Rotavirus strains combined with the limited circulation of the
emerging G9 Rotavirus type among our population may account for the absence of Rotavirus
infections in newborn infants