Rotavirus and adenovirus infections in children with acute gastroenteritis after introducing the Rotasiil® vaccine in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Background: Although rotavirus vaccination has reduced the global burden of the virus, morbidity and mortality from rotavirus infection remain high in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of rotavirus and adenovirus infections in children under five years with acute gastroenteritis and to identify factors associated with rotavirus infection after the introduction of the Rotasiil® vaccine in 2019 in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Methods: This study consisted of a cross-sectional hospital-based survey conducted from May 2022 to April 2023 in four health facilities in Kisangani, using a fecal-based test (rapid antigenic immuno-chromatographic diagnostic test, BYOSYNEX adenovirus/rotavirus BSS, Biosynex SA, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France) of rotavirus and adenovirus infections among children under five years of age with acute gastroenteritis.

Clinical profile of children under 5 years of age with rotavirus diarrhoea in a hospital setting in Kisangani, DRC, after the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine, a cross-sectional study.

Background: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the countries with the highest rotavirus mortality rate in the world. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical features of rotavirus infection after the introduction of rotavirus vaccination of children in the city of Kisangani, DRC.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of acute diarrhoea in children under 5 years of age admitted to 4 hospitals in Kisangani, DRC.