ABSTRACT
This chapter provides state-of-the-art overviews on foodborne diseases caused by rotavirus (RV) in relation to their clinical presentation, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Infection-related diarrheal disease is the second leading cause of death in children younger than 5 years of age, with estimated global mortalities of 526,000 in 2015. Among the many enteropathogens that cause diarrhea, RV, calicivirus, and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli are the three most common etiological agents. Three morphologic appearances of RV particles in stool samples are visible by EM, the single-layered particles (SLPs), the DLPs, and the triple-layered particles. RV is the most common cause of severe, dehydrating diarrhea among children younger than 5 years of age globally. Annual mortality rates due to RV infections have declined from 528,000 in 2000 to 215,000 in 2013. Several RV strains have been known to spread to other sites extraintestinally, in human as well as animal models, suggesting a wider receptor as well as host tissue range than previously hypothesized.
