The normal diagnosis of rotavirus infection is after the diagnosis of gastroenteritis and severe diarrhea. Most children admitted to the hospital with gastroenteritis are tested for rotavirus A. Rotavirus A is specifically diagnosed by using enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) to identify the virus in the patient’s stool. There are already several approved surveillance devices on the market that are sensitive to all serotypes of rotavirus A and can detect them individually. Other methods, such as electron microscopy or gel electrophoresis, are used in research laboratories. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) can detect and identify all species and serotypes of human rotavirus.

Rotavirus antigen rapid detection is a side-flow chromatography immunoassay.