title: Rotavirus disease in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa: a review of longitudinal community and hospital studies.
abstract: Rotavirus is one of the most common causes of childhood diarrheal disease and deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. This article reviews community- and hospital-based surveillance of rotavirus disease in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. Here, rotavirus infections exhibit a seasonal pattern, with annual epidemics occurring during the relatively dry and cooler months, from January to April, and few cases registered from May to December. Most children (74%) experience their first infection before the age of 2 years, and rotavirus has been identified as the most pathogenic of all diarrheal agents during 2 large prospective studies involving several hundred children <5 years of age. In the hospital setting, rotavirus accounts for a high case-fatality ratio (8%) and a high rate of nosocomial transmission; during the rotavirus season, 23% of all children admitted for nonrotavirus diarrheal disease acquired rotavirus infection during hospitalization (>48 h after admission).
authors.affiliation: Projecto de Saúde de Bandim, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. thf@ssi.dk
authors.forename: Thea Kølsen
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aaby
authors.forename: Kåre
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mølbak
authors.forename: Amabélia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005838:Genotype; D006169:Guinea-Bissau / Q000453:epidemiology; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000821:virology*