Deaths from rotavirus disease in Bangladeshi children: estimates from hospital-based surveillance.

Data from ongoing diarrhoea surveillance of patients visiting Dhaka Hospital during 1993-2004 and all patients visiting the rural Matlab Hospital during 2000-2004 was examined. At Dhaka Hospital, RV was detected in 33% of 18,300 children with diarrhoea. The proportion of diarrhoea attributable to RV nearly doubled during 2002-2004 compared with 1993-1995 (42% versus 22%, P < 0.001). At Matlab Hospital, RV was detected in 35% of 4597 children with diarrhoea. At both sites, most RV cases were among children age 3-24 months. Of the 325,600 deaths among children <5 years that occur each year, it was estimated that 5600 to 9400 (2-3%) were attributable to RV. Thus, between 1 in 390 and 1 in 660 children born in Bangladesh each year die of RV infection by age 5. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2007;26(11):1014-8.