Luanda – A total of 135 cases of children with diarrhoea caused by rotavirus infection are recorded every month in Luanda "David Bernardino" Paediatric Hospital, representing the third main cause of internments and fourth of death in the institution, Angop learned Thursday here.
The information was released by Paediatrician Leite Cruzeiro, while speaking about the most common causes of diarrhoea and dehydration.
The physician said that in response to the epidemiological surveillance recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to African countries, results of preliminary studies to establish the prevalence of rotaviruses in children interned in the Paediatric Hospital with diarrhoea have been released.
He said the infection by rotavirus is one of the most common causes of acute diarrhoea and dehydration in children below five years of age, responding for about 600,000 deaths per year around the world, 90 percent of which in Africa south of the Sahara.
The physician said as well rotavirus is also responsible for 25 million medical consultations and two million internments, mainly of pre-school age children.