Rotavirus in travelers' diarrhea: study of an adult student population in Mexico.

The role of rotavirus in adult diarrhea was evaluated in 165 students attending a Mexican university. Students were divided into three groups: newly arrived summer students from the United Sttes, regular students from the United States, and Mexican and Venezuelan students. Ninety-one students with diarrhea and 74 corresponding, matched, asymptomatic control students were included in the study. The frequency of rotavirus in stools was determined by electron microscopy with use of the pseudoreplica technique. Twenty-five percent of those who were ill and 12% of the controls had rotavirus in their stools. A significantly (P less than 0.05) greater number of newly arrived United States summer students with diarrhea had rotavirus in their stool than did matched controls (26% vs. 3%). There was no significant difference in rate of recovery of bacterial pathogens from rotavirus-positive and rotavirus-negative stools (52% vs. 53%) from students with diarrhea. Although significantly more rotavirus was identified from ill American summer students than from controls, the role of rotavirus as a cause of diarrhea in these students could not be established in all cases since bacterial pathogens were also commonly found in stool.