Italy's Diasorin launches Rotavirus test

[February 11, 2014]  MILAN (Reuters) — Italian medical diagnostics group Diasorin said on Tuesday it had launched a test to detect Rotavirus in stool samples in Europe, a market estimated to be worth more than 10 million euros ($13.7 million) a year.

Rotavirus is a common cause of severe diarrhea in infants, accounting for around 28 percent of cases of the disease, but 50 percent of deaths from it.

The new test obtains rapid results on a large number of samples for Rotavirus, which causes about 500,000 deaths a year, Diasorin said.

"With the addition of Rotavirus to our menu, we increase our offer of tests on stool sample," Diasorin Chief Executive Carlo Rosa said in a statement.

Nearly every child in the world has been affected by Rotavirus at least once by the age of five, and six million tests for Rotavirus are carried out every year in Europe, Diasorin said.

By 1107 GMT shares in Diasorin were up 0.5 percent, in line with the broader Milan stock market.

(Reporting by Isla Binnie; editing by David Holmes)

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