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Epidemiological changes in rotavirus gastroenteritis in children under 5 years of age after the introduction of rotavirus vaccines in Korea

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Abstract

Rotavirus gastroenteritis is the leading cause of severe acute gastroenteritis in children worldwide and is associated with high hospitalization and mortality rates in children younger than 5 years of age. Vaccination is necessary to prevent rotavirus infection. Two live attenuated and orally administered rotavirus vaccines became commercially available in Korea. The aim of this study is to describe epidemiological changes in rotavirus gastroenteritis after the introduction of rotavirus vaccines in Korea. The medical records of 11,199 children younger than 5 years of age and hospitalized for acute gastroenteritis from August 2007 to July 2010 in eight Korean hospitals were reviewed. Rotavirus was detected in stool samples obtained from 2,959 children (26.42 %). The authors evaluated the percentage of rotavirus gastroenteritis among all acute gastroenteritis hospitalizations in eight hospitals located in different geographical areas and analyzed epidemiological changes in rotavirus gastroenteritis according to age, geographical area, and season. According to the findings, the percentage of rotavirus gastroenteritis showed a decrease in children eligible for vaccination during the study period. After introduction of the vaccine, reduced rates of rotavirus detection were observed in all of the geographical areas, and the greatest reduction was observed in Seoul. In Seoul, there was a marked delay of the rotavirus season. Conclusion: Epidemiologic changes in Korea after the introduction of rotavirus vaccine are consistent with changes observed in other countries.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare the following financial interest: All authors received research grants for this study from MSD Korea Ltd.; however, this had no influence on conduct of the study, interpretation of results, and writing of this article. All authors state that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, 222 Banpodaero, Seochogu, Seoul, 137-701, Republic of Korea

    Ui Yoon Choi, Soo Young Lee, Jong Hyun Kim & Jin Han Kang

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Changwon Fatima Hospital, Changwon, Korea

    Sang Hyuk Ma

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Jeonju Presbyterian Hospital, Jeonju, Korea

    Young Taek Jang

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea

    Jae Young Kim

  5. Department of Pediatrics, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea

    Hwang Min Kim

  6. Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    Dong Soo Kim

  7. Merck, Sharp, and Dohme (MSD), Seoul, Korea

    Yong Soo Kim

Authors
  1. Ui Yoon Choi
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  2. Soo Young Lee
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  3. Sang Hyuk Ma
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  4. Young Taek Jang
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  5. Jae Young Kim
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  6. Hwang Min Kim
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  7. Jong Hyun Kim
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  8. Dong Soo Kim
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  9. Yong Soo Kim
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  10. Jin Han Kang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jin Han Kang.

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Choi, U.Y., Lee, S.Y., Ma, S.H. et al. Epidemiological changes in rotavirus gastroenteritis in children under 5 years of age after the introduction of rotavirus vaccines in Korea. Eur J Pediatr 172, 947–952 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-013-1974-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-013-1974-y

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