ABSTRACT
Diarrheal diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality among young children in developing and developed countries [1,2]. It is established that in Africa, Asia, and Latin America 744 million to one billion cases of acute gastroenteritis and 2.4 to 3.3 million deaths occur annually among children less than 5 years of age [2,3]. Although at least 25 different bacteria and protozoa can cause childhood diarrhea, more than 75% of cases are caused by viruses, and seven groups of diarrheal viruses (rotavirus, norovirus, sapovirus, adenovirus, astrovirus, parechovirus, and Aichi virus) are considered as the common etiologic agents of acute gastroenteritis in humans [1,4-6].
