Abstract:

Introduction and objectives: Diarrhea in children is common cause of morbidities and mortalities in many resource limited including Tanzania. Despite the five years of Rota virus vaccine implementation in Tanzania, cases of diarrhea associated with severe dehydration among infants are still reported which necessitate the need to investigate other causes of diarrhea in this population. This study aimed to determining the prevalence of Human Adenovirus virus infection and associated factors among rotavirus vaccinated infants with acute diarrhea in Mwanza city.

Method: This cross sectional hospital based study involved 137 children with acute diarrhea was conducted from June to July 2018. Sociodemographic and other relevant information were collected by standardized Rotavirus surveillance tool adopted from WHO with slight modifications. Stool specimen from infants admitted at different hospitals in Mwanza city was collected and tested for Human Adenovirus antigen using immunochromatographic test. Data were analyzed by using STATA version 13.

Results: The median age of enrolled children was 12 (IQR: 8-17) months. The prevalence of human adenovirus was found to be 46 (33.6%, 95% CI: 25-41). By multivariable logistic regression analysis only prolonged duration of diarrhea (OR: 1.619, 95% CI: (1.42-2.295), p=0.007) was found to predict Adenovirus infection among children with diarrhea.

Conclusion: The prevalence of adenovirus infection among children with watery diarrhea in Mwanza is high and is predicted by prolonged duration of diarrhea. This calls for the need to improve control interventions particularly in areas where the virus is endemic.