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Prospective study of the burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis in Danish children and their families

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Abstract

This was the first study to characterize the total burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) at both hospital and general physician (GP) clinics in Denmark, and also the first to confirm rotavirus (RV) as the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis (GE) among children <5 years in GP clinics nationwide. Several aspects of RVGE were reported, including the impact of RVGE on family life by changes in HRQoL and by the number of days absent from day care. RV was detected in 225 (63.6%) children, and the median number of days absent from day care was 5 days. In 43.0% of the families, at least one family member, a total of 170 individuals, experienced symptoms of acute GE. Reduced health-related quality of life was observed both among children and parents. Our data suggested that RVGE indirectly as well as directly is a major public health burden in Denmark and comparable with data from other European countries.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all investigators and study nurses for participating in this study and Sanofi Pasteur MSD ApS, Denmark for financial support. Data collection was done by the investigators. Data processing was performed by an independent CRO.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paediatrics, Hvidovre Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Kettegaard Alle 30, 2650, Hvidovre, Denmark

    Thomas Hoffmann & Birthe Hogh

  2. The Virus Reference Department, The Health Protection Agency, Centre for Infections, London, UK

    Miren Iturriza & Jim Gray

  3. Clinic Odense, Odense, Denmark

    Jens Faaborg-Andersen

  4. Clinic Fredericia, Fredericia, Denmark

    Christina Kraaer

  5. Clinic Roskilde, Roskilde, Denmark

    Christina P. Nielsen

Authors
  1. Thomas Hoffmann
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  2. Miren Iturriza
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  3. Jens Faaborg-Andersen
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  4. Christina Kraaer
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  5. Christina P. Nielsen
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  6. Jim Gray
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  7. Birthe Hogh
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Hoffmann.

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Hoffmann, T., Iturriza, M., Faaborg-Andersen, J. et al. Prospective study of the burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis in Danish children and their families. Eur J Pediatr 170, 1535–1539 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-011-1465-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-011-1465-y

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