title: The health and economic burden of rotavirus disease in Belgium.
abstract: For health economic evaluations of rotavirus vaccination, estimates of the health and cost burden of rotavirus are required. Due to differences in health care systems and surveillance organisations, this is difficult to achieve by imputing estimates from one country to others. This study aimed to estimate the burden of rotavirus disease in Belgium. In children younger than 7 years of age, rotavirus is predicted to account annually for about 5,600 hospitalisations (676:100,000 children); 26,800 outpatient, general practitioner and paediatrician visits; and about 44,600 episodes for which no medical care is sought. This burden is estimated to represent direct costs of 7.7 million Euro and indirect costs of 12.8 million Euro. Rotavirus disease causes a substantial health and economic burden in Belgium.
authors.affiliation: Unit for Health Economics and Modelling Infectious Diseases, Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. Joke.Bilcke@ua.ac.be
authors.forename: Joke
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bilcke
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van Damme
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Smet
authors.forename: Germaine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hanquet
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Van Ranst
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Beutels
mesh_terms: D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D017028:Caregivers / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009819:Office Visits / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology*