1. Primary care-based surveillance to estimate the burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis among children aged less than 5 years in six European countries.
- Author
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Diez-Domingo, Javier, Baldo, Jose-Maria, Patrzalek, Marian, Pazdiora, Petr, Forster, Johannes, Cantarutti, Luigi, Pirçon, Jean-Yves, Soriano-Gabarró, Montse, Meyer, Nadia, Pirçon, Jean-Yves, Soriano-Gabarró, Montse, and SPRIK Rotavirus Study Group
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ROTAVIRUS diseases , *GASTROENTERITIS in children , *AGE distribution , *COMPARATIVE studies , *FECES , *GASTROENTERITIS , *LONGITUDINAL method , *RESEARCH methodology , *MEDICAL cooperation , *SCIENTIFIC observation , *PRIMARY health care , *RESEARCH , *RETROVIRUS diseases , *ROTAVIRUSES , *EVALUATION research - Abstract
This observational, prospective study was undertaken to estimate the burden of rotavirus (RV) gastroenteritis (GE) leading to general practitioner (GP)/family paediatrician (FP) visits among children aged <5 years in Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK. Children aged <5 years presenting with acute GE provided stool samples for rapid RV testing. RV+ samples were confirmed and typed by RT-PCR. Demographic and clinical data were collected for all RVGE episodes. Transmission patterns among other household children aged <5 years were also assessed. From November 2005 to May 2007, excluding data from the UK, 497/3,813 (13.0%) children aged <5 years presenting with acute GE to GP/FP and tested were RV+ by PCR. Most RVGE cases (69.1%) occurred in children aged <2 years, occurred between December and May (93.1%) and were moderate or severe by Vesikari score (92.9%). RV strain distribution varied between countries: G9P[8] was the most common type in Poland (54/76) and Spain (172/196), G1P[8] was predominant in the Czech Republic (56/64) and Italy (46/107), and G4P[8] and G1P[8] both prevailed in Germany (17/54 and 13/54, respectively). A total of 24/122 (19.7%) children aged <5 years resident in the same household as a PCR+ study participant also developed RVGE. Conclusion. This multinational epidemiological study in Europe shows that RV is easily transmitted among household children, with RVGE burden highest among children aged <2 years accessing primary healthcare for acute GE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011
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