Epidemiology of rotavirus diarrhea and diversity of rotavirus strains among children less than 5 years of age with acute gastroenteritis in Mauritius: June 2008 to December 2010.

Background: Rotavirus is an important etiologic agent of diarrhea worldwide and ongoing surveillance is essential to monitor strain diversity. To describe the epidemiology of rotavirus disease and circulating rotavirus strains in Mauritius, surveillance for rotavirus diarrhea was conducted at 2 regional hospitals from June 2008 through December 2010.

Methods: A total of 787 fecal samples from children <5 years of age admitted to the pediatric ward with acute gastroenteritis was collected within 48 hours of hospitalization and analyzed for group A rotavirus.