The Rotavirus and Adenovirus Combo Rapid Test Device (Feces) is a rapid visual immunoassay for the qualitative presumptive detection of rotavirus and adenovirus in human fecal specimens. This kit is intended to be used as an aid in the diagnosis of rotavirus and adenovirus infection.

Rotavirus is the most common agent responsible for acute gastroenteritis, mainly in young children. Its discovery in 1973 and its association with infantile gastro-enteritis represented a very important advancement in the study of gastro-enteriti not caused by acute bacterial infection. Rotavirus is transmitted by oro-faecal route with an incubation period of 1-3 days. Although specimen collections taken within the second and fifth day of the illness are ideal for antigen detection, the rotavirus may still be found while diarrhoea continues. Rotaviral gastroenteritis may result in mortality for populations at risk such as infants, the elderly, and immunocompromised patients. In temperate climates, rotavirus infections occur mainly in the winter months. Endemics as well as epidemics affecting some thousand people have been reported. With hospitalized children suffering from acute entric disease up to 50% of the analysed specimen were positive for rotavirus. The viruses replicate in the cell nucleus and tend to be host species specific producing a characteristic cytopathic effect (CPE). Because rotavirus is extremely difficult to culture, it is unusual to use isolation of the virus in diagnosing an infection. Instead, a variety of techniques have been developed to detect rotavirus in feces.

Acute diarrheal disease in young children is a major cause of morbidity worldwide and is a leading cause of mortality in developing countries. Research has shown that enteric adenoviruses, primarily Ad40 and Ad41, are a leading cause of diarrhea in many of these children, second only to the rotaviruses. These viral pathogens have been isolated throughout the world, and can cause diarrhea in children year round. Infections are most frequently seen in children less than two years of age, but have been found in patients of all ages. Further studies indicate that adenoviruses are associated with 4 - 15% of all hospitalized cases of viral gastroenteritis.

Rapid and accurate diagnosis of gastroenteritis due to adenovirus is helpful in establishing the etiology of gastroenteritis and related patient management. Other diagnostic techniques such as electron microscopy (EM) and nucleic acid hybridization are expensive and labor-intensive. With the self-limiting nature of adenovirus infection, such expensive and labor-intensive tests may not be necessary.