This is an assignment for Biol. 2420, Microbiology. Any diagnostic testing begins with obtaining a stool sample from the patient. The sample should be examined immediately to avoid its degredation.
Testing is performed directly on the stool sample, no culturing of the viral agent is required.
For maximum use in the diagnostic procedure, a stool sample must be obtained with in the first three to five days of the illness. Viral presence in the stool declines markedly after the eighth day of infection, which would decrease the accuracy of any testing. Rotavirus is notoriously difficult to culture in vitro, even with cell culture. Because of this, in vivo tests must be run. It is also possible to use biopsy or scrapings from the GI tract to perform diagnostic tests.