First detection of group C rotavirus in children with acute diarrhea in Spain

Group C rotavirus causes sporadic cases and outbreaks of acute diarrhea in children and adults in many countries, but has never been detected among children in Spain. In a recently conducted surveillance study to screen fecal specimens for bacteria and viruses from a cohort of 822 young children who were treated for acute diarrhea in Madrid, no pathogens were detected in fecal specimens from 238 (29%) children. In this study, we examined 147 of those specimens for group C rotavirus by EIA and PCR and found 22 (15%) were positive. Our findings demonstrate that group C rotavirus is an important cause of childhood diarrhea in Spain.