en Microbial pathogenesis Microbial pathogenesis Original article Original article <strong>Introduction:</strong> Salivirus (SalV), a possible causative agent of gastroenteritis, belongs to the genus <em>Salivirus</em> in <em>Picornaviridae</em> Family. The fecal-oral path seems to be the entry route for SalV in susceptible peoples such as children that consume polluted water. We investigated the SalV occurrence in children&#39;s stool with acute gastroenteritis using a reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay (RT-qPCR).<strong> Methods:</strong> From Sep. 2018 to May 2019, 160 stool samples were collected from children with acute gastroenteritis admitted to Imam Ali General Hospital, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. After viral RNA extraction, the 5&#39;UTR region of the SalV genome was amplified by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and the viral load was defined.<strong> Results:</strong> Of the 160 stool samples, 41 (25.6%) were positive for SalV RNA. The highest SalV detection rate was in Feb. (28.2%), and the highest viral load (6.2&times;10⁷ copies/g) belonged to a 1-month-old patient. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Salivirus occurs among Iranian children with acute gastroenteritis. Our results suggest that Salivirus might contribute to acute gastroenteritis. Salivirus, Acute gastroenteritis, Viral load 191 195 http://jommid.pasteur.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-365-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Saber Basiri basirisaber@gmail.com 0000-0003-3602-4656 No Department of Microbiology, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran Bahman Khalesi khalesi20022002@yahoo.com 0000-0001-5723-8624 No Department of Research and Production of Poultry Viral Vaccine, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran Seyed Dawood Mousavi-Nasab d.mosavinasab@gmail.com 0000-0002-4831-3108 No Department of Research and Development, Production and Research Complex, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Zahra Ivani 0000-0002-3751-8327 No Department of Science, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute Mostafa Ghaderi ghaderi_viro@yahoo.com 0000-0002-8249-1231 Yes Department of Microbiology, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran