Hospital admissions for rotavirus infection in the Netherlands

The development of a vaccine against rotavirus (RV) infection has necessitated the estimation of the number of hospitalizations for RV infection in the Netherlands. During 1998, pediatricians have reported all hospitalizations with RV infection and supplied information on the duration of admission, clinical picture, indication for admission, and treatment. Also, data from the National Disease Registry on hospitalizations for gastroenteritis (International Classification of Disease codes 006.6. 006.8, 009, and 558.9) and laboratory surveillance data for 1996-1998 were combined in a linear regression model to indirectly estimate the incidence and proportion of hospitalizations attributable to RV infection. The direct estimate of admissions for RV infection in children aged <5 years was 0.9 per 1000, and the indirect estimate was 2.7 per 1000 in 1998 (1996, 3.4; 1997, 1.6). The proportion of hospitalizations for gastroenteritis attributable to RV ranged from 32% in 1997 to 58% in 1996.