title: The paediatric burden of rotavirus disease in Europe.
abstract: Rotaviruses are a major cause of hospitalizations for acute gastroenteritis in developed countries. This review shows the burden of rotavirus disease in < 5-year-old children in Europe. An estimated 72,000-77,000 hospitalizations for community-acquired rotavirus disease occur annually in the 23 million under-fives living in the European Union (EU-25), with a median cost of Euro 1417 per case. Annual hospitalization incidence rates range from 0.3 to 11.9/1000 children < 5 years old (median 3/1000). The median proportion of hospital-acquired rotavirus disease among all cases of hospitalization for rotavirus disease is estimated to be 21%. Countries of the EU-25 require information on the burden of rotavirus disease to support introduction of rotavirus vaccines. Data on cases treated at home, medical visits, and emergency wards as well as rotavirus-associated deaths are limited. To fully evaluate the impact and effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination programmes in Europe, additional epidemiological studies will be critical and desirable.
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*