The Epidemiology and Disease Burden of Rotavirus in Vietnam: Sentinel Surveillance at 6 Hospitals Nguyen Van Man,1 Nguyen Van Trang,2

The disease burden of rotavirus diarrhea in Vietnam was assessed by surveillance of children!5 years old who were hospitalized for diarrhea at 3 centers in the north and 3 centers in the south. Rotavirus was identified in 56 % (range, 47%–60%) of the 5768 patients surveyed between July 1998 and June 2000. G-typing of the first 224 strains indicated that only 2 % were non-typeable, 9 % were in mixed infections, and the remainder were of the common serotypes G1, G2, G3, G4, and G9. In Vietnam, diarrhea accounts for 9880 deaths per year, which is ∼15% of all deaths among children!5 years old, or 6.5 deaths per 1000 children. If even 50 % of these diarrhea-related deaths in Vietnam were due to rotavirus, the number would represent 4%–8 % of all deaths among children!5 years old, 2700–5400 rotavirus-related deaths per year, and 1 death per 280–560 children during the first 5 years of life. Thus, the disease burden of rotavirus in Vietnam is substantial, and programs to encourage the use of oral rehydration should be encouraged while efforts to develop vaccines continue. Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea in children worldwide, and vaccines that are being developed and tested potentially could prevent much of the morbidity and mortality due to this disease. The greatest burden of diseas