Sorveglianza molecolare delle gastroenteriti da rotavirus nelle Marche

Rotaviruses are the leading cause of acute diarrhea among children worldwide. and are associated with a very high mortality, exceeding 450,000 cases yearly. for the mosl part in developing countries. In Italy, a network of laboratories located in 13 regions is acting since 2007, for the collection of rotavirus strains from the feces of pediatric patients hospitalized for acute diarrhea. The network RotaNet-ltaly is linked to similar networks in 16 other European countries. sharing epidemiological and molecular diagnostic methods. and contributing to the general database of the European network EuroRotaNet. The main purpose is to provide detailed information on rotavirus genotypes co-circulating in Italy, to detect changes of the predominant strains during years and among different geographical areas, and to promptly identify the possible emergence of "uncommon" strains before their possible large scale spread.