Background: Acute diarrheal disease due to Rotavirus is prevalent in the community. Severe dehydration results in mortality, if not intervened in time. Aim: This study was undertaken to identify Rotavirus antigen in stools, to study the influence of age, sex and feeding pattern and to analyse the outcome. Settings and design: Prospective, nonrandomized, non- ontrolled, analytical, hospital based study done during 2013-2015. Materials and methods: children less than 5 years with acute watery diarrhea were the study subjects. A commercial kit with Latex Agglutination method was used to identify Rotavirus antigen in freshly passed stool. Children were treated in the standard way, either as out-patient or hospitalised depending on clinical situation. Results: Of the 211 motion specimens tested, 37 (17.5%) were positive for Rotavirus antigen. Twenty-two (59.5%) were infants. Children of both sex, either breastfed or bottle fed were equally affected. 75.7% were hospitalised. Mean duration of hospital stay was 7 days. No mortality. Conclusion: Children of both sex, irrespective of feeding pattern were prone for Rotavirus diarrhea. Infants were at high risk of infection. Early hospitalisation could have prevented mortality.  

Keywords: Infants; Latex Agglutination; Rotavirus.