Virus diversity of acute diarrhea in tropical highlands

Research objective

Characterize the viral, bacterial and parasitic contributions to acute infectious diarrhea in children under five years of age in a high-altitude tropical setting (Facatativá, Colombia) across one full year.

Population or sample

Stool samples from 300 children under five years of age, collected over a one-year period in Facatativá, Colombia.

Methods

Bacteria and intestinal parasites identified by routine methods. Viruses detected and typed by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), covering group A and group C Rotavirus, Calicivirus, Human Astrovirus and enteric Adenovirus.

Key findings

20.6% of cases were associated with bacteria, 9% with parasites and 40% with viruses. Group C Rotavirus was found in 20.2%, Group A in 13% and Calicivirus in 10%. Viral-associated diarrhea peaked between November and April (p<0.007); bacterial and parasitic cases predominated between May and October. Group C Rotavirus prevalence was unusually elevated compared to previous international reports.

Scientific relevance

Contributed a rare characterization of Group C Rotavirus circulation in a Colombian pediatric population and expanded the molecular epidemiological record of enteric viral diarrhea in an equatorial highland setting, forming part of a broader research trajectory that later included molecular characterization of Rotavirus C and an NCBI GenBank sequence record.

Marcela Riaño Caro's documented role

Listed co-author (Marcela Riaño), Department of Microbiology, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.