Viral Gastroenteritis in Mongolian Infants

摘要

To the Editor: Viral agents of gas-troenteritis affect millions of personsof all ages worldwide (1). The majoragents include rotavirus, norovirus,sapovirus, astrovirus, and enteric ade-novirus. Rotavirus is the most fre-quent cause of acute sporadic child-hood gastroenteritis (1), whereasnorovirus infects both adults and chil-dren and is mainly associated withoutbreaks of acute gastroenteritis (1).These viruses are commonly transmit-ted by foodborne, person-to-person,fecal-oral, and environmental routes.In 1999, the infant death rate was37.3 per 1,000 live births in Mongolia(2). Bacterial pathogens, such asShigella flexneri and Salmonella, arecommonly detected in hospitalizedpatients with gastroenteritis, but nodata exist concerning viral agents ofgastroenteritis in hospitalized patientsor in the general community (2).