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Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) is a non-contagious arthropod-borne disease transmitted by blood-sucking midges of the genus Culicoides. It affects domestic and wild ruminants, mainly white-tailed deer and cattle. At the end of October and in November 2022, outbreaks of EHD were confirmed in several cattle farms in Sardinia and Sicily. This is the first detection of EHD in Europe. The loss of free status and the lack of effective prophylactic measures could have significant economic consequences for infected countries.

Recent clinical experience with twelve cases of rotavirus gastroenteritis has enabled us to review this subject. After a historical introduction and a review of the literature, two patients are described in detail. The clinical and laboratory data of all the twelve children are reviewed and compared with cases reported in the literature. These observations suggest several conclusions: The disease is very contagious. The patients present with diarrhoea lasting a few days, vomiting and fever. They recover without complications usually within 6 days. All our cases occurred in winter. The blood count revealed a neutrophilia at the onset of the illness followed after 4-5 days by a lymphocytosis with 1-3% plasmocytes. The finding of increased serum transaminase levels indicates a hepatic involvement. These levels returned to normal values only several weeks after the clinical improvement. Treatment consisting only of rehydration and a usual diet for acute gastroenteritis was successful in all the patients.

The authors have used an anti-rotavirus immunserum fixed to the Staphylococcus aureus protein A to detect this virus in the stools. A study on animal faeces showed a very good agreement in results with ELISA technique. The study on human stools shows a good agreement with ELISA technique and identical results to this technique in comparison with electronical microscopy. The agglutination reaction appears as a quick, simple and specific technique to find out rotavirus in the stools.