Pediatr Infect Dis J

Background:Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe diarrhea among young children worldwide. Rotavirus vaccines have demonstrated substantial benefits in many countries that have introduced vaccine nationally. In China, where rotavirus vaccines are not available through the national immunization program, it will be important to review relevant local and global information to determine the potential value of national introduction. Therefore, we reviewed evidence of rotavirus disease burden among Chinese children <5 years of age to help inform rotavirus vaccine introduction decisions.Methods:We reviewed scientific literature on rotavirus disease burden in China from 1994 through 2014 in CNKI, Wanfang and Pubmed. Studies were selected if they were conducted for periods of 12 month increments, had more than 100 patients enrolled, and used an accepted diagnostic test.Results:Overall, 45 reports were included and indicate that rotavirus causes ~40% and ~30% of diarrhea-related hospitalizations and outpatient visits, respectively, among children aged