title: Rotavirus-associated acute gastroenteritis hospitalizations among Japanese children aged <5 years: active rotavirus surveillance in Mie Prefecture, Japan.
abstract: Two effective vaccines for rotavirus infection will be available near future in  Japan and data on the burden of rotavirus disease and the circulating rotavirus strains are  urgently needed. To obtain these data, we set up active rotavirus hospitalization surveillance in  three cities, Tsu, Matsusaka, and Ise in Mie Prefecture, Japan. From November 1, 2007 through  October 31, 2009, we enrolled children <5 years of age who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of  acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and collected information on age, sex, month of admission, city of  residence, and symptoms at the time of hospitalization. Stool samples were also obtained for  rotavirus testing and genotype investigation. Rotavirus infection accounted for approximately 40%  to 50% of hospitalized AGE cases in each city, and approximately 63% of those hospitalized were 2  years of age or younger. Matsusaka had the highest incidence rate at 4.7 rotavirus hospitalizations  per 1,000 children <5 years of age (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.6-5.9), followed by Tsu  City (4.4 per 1,000; 95% CI: 3.6-5.3), and Ise City (2.8 per 1,000; 95% CI: 2.0-4.0). The most  dominant rotavirus genotype was G3P[8], which accounted for 73.1% of cases. Our findings confirm  the substantial health burden of rotavirus AGE hospitalization among Japanese children <5 years of  age.
authors: Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan. hakamiya＠nih.go.jp
authors: Hajime
authors: H
authors: Kamiya
authors: Takashi
authors: T
authors: Nakano
authors: Hitoshi
authors: H
authors: Kamiya
authors: Akiko
authors: A
authors: Yui
authors: Koki
authors: K
authors: Taniguchi
authors: Umesh
authors: U
authors: Parashar
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D005843:Geography; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology