Role of rotavirus and enteric adenovirus in acute paediatric diarrhoea at an urban hospital in Mexico.

Of 150 acute diarrhoea paediatric cases admitted to the General Hospital Augustín O'Horán in Mérida, Yucatán, México between January 1986 and December 1986, human rotavirus was detected in the faeces of 48 (32%) either as the sole aetiological agent or in association with other viruses. Adenovirus was detected in faeces of 18 (12%) patients. Rotavirus of the long pattern type (antigenic subgroup II) predominated. Children aged 7 to 12 months were most commonly infected. Rotavirus was detected throughout the year, whereas adenovirus was detected between January and September only. Clinical features of patients with rotavirus and adenovirus infections are compared.