Rotavirus gastroenteritis in children under 5 years in the Kingdom of Bahrain: hospital-based surveillance.
OBJECTIVE
Rotavirus (RV) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children under 5 years of age worldwide. This study assessed the role of RV as a cause of gastroenteritis (GE)-associated hospitalization in children, generating baseline information to evaluate the potential impact of the RV vaccine in reducing RVGE disease burden in the Kingdom of Bahrain.


METHODS
This single, pediatric hospital-based surveillance study was conducted over a period of 12 months beginning April 1, 2006. A total of 314 children aged under 5 years and hospitalized due to GE were enrolled in the study, following collection of written informed consent from parents/guardians. Stool samples were tested for the presence of RV using enzyme immunoassay, and a random subset of RV-positive samples was further genotyped using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and reverse hybridization assay.


RESULTS
Of 314 enrolled children, 239 were included in the final analysis. RV was detected in 107 children (44.8%), mostly in the 6-23 months age group (82/107; 76.6%). RVGE occurred throughout the year, with the highest proportion occurring during April (26/42; 61.9%). G1P[8[ was the most commonly detected RV strain (10/17; 58.8%) in the limited number of samples analyzed. Vomiting and severe RVGE were more commonly observed in RV-positive than RV-negative children before hospitalization (P = 0.0008 and 0.0204, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
In our study, RV accounted for over 40% of GE-associated hospitalizations and particularly affected children under 2 years of age. These data will serve as a baseline for assessing the potential changes in the epidemiology of RV disease and for evaluating the potential impact of the introduction of RV vaccination.
Public Health Directorate, Ministry of Health, Manama, the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Muna Al
MA
Musawi
Hassan
H
Zainaldeen
Fakrudeen
F
Shafi
Sameh
S
Anis
Rodrigo
R
Deantonio
Kingdom of Bahrain; epidemiology; gastroenteritis; rotavirus