Abstract
Rotavirus remains the main causative agent of gastroenteritis in young children, in countries that have not yet introduced the vaccine. Benin, in order to implement the WHO recommendations, projects to introduce the rotavirus vaccine in 2018 as part of its Expanded Program on Immunization. But before the introduction of this vaccine, epidemiological data on rotavirus infections and rotavirus genotypes circulating in Benin should be available. The aim of this study is to generate epidemiological data on infantile rotavirus diarrhea in Benin. In order to determine the epidemiological characteristics and electrophoretypes of rotavirus responsible for gastroenteritis in diarrheic children aged 0 to 5 years, 186 stool samples were collected according to the WHO Rotavirus Laboratory Manual from March 2014 to February 2015 at Suru-Lere University Hospital Center. Detection of rotavirus antigen was performed by the ELISA test, followed by molecular characterization using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. 186 stool samples were analyzed for rotavirus, and seventy-three (39.2%) were found to be positive for rotavirus antigen by ELISA. Children aged 3 to 24 months were the most affected by rotavirus diarrhea in this study. Of the seventy-three children affected with rotavirus diarrhea, 27 (37%) had vomiting accompanied by dehydration and fever. Results based on electrophoresis showed that, among the 73 samples tested, 38 yielded typical rotavirus electrophoretic migration profiles.