Peer-reviewed article
Sociodemographic and Clinical Characteristics of Rotavirus Diarrhea in Children Aged Under 5 Years in Odisha After the Introduction of Rotavirus Vaccine: A Hospital-Based Surveillance Study.
Prasantajyoti Mohanty, Pravakar Mishra, Subal Kumar Pradhan, Rajib Kumar Ray, Lipsa Roul et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined rotavirus diarrhea in children under 5 in Odisha, India after the state switched rotavirus vaccines in 2022. Researchers tested stool samples from 288 hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis and found rotavirus in 23.3% of samples. Boys, children from low-income families, and cases occurring November to March had higher rotavirus rates. The study found that rotavirus-positive children were more likely to experience severe dehydration, but no deaths were reported.
Key points
- Rotavirus was detected in 23.3% of acute gastroenteritis cases in hospitalized children under 5
- Rotavirus positivity was higher in boys than girls and highest from November to March
- Most rotavirus-positive children came from low socioeconomic backgrounds
- Severe to very severe dehydration occurred in 78% of rotavirus-positive cases versus 69.2% of rotavirus-negative cases
- The lower rotavirus positivity rate compared to previous studies suggests vaccination has had a positive effect
Limitations
This is a hospital-based surveillance study, so findings reflect only children sick enough to be hospitalized and may not represent community-level disease burden. The study does not directly compare vaccination coverage or vaccination status among the enrolled children.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Rotavirus diarrhea is a leading cause of death in children aged under 5 y. Odisha introduced Rotavac in April 2016 and switched to ROTASIIL in January 2022. This study aimed to investigate the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of rotavirus-associated diarrhea in children aged under 5 y in Odisha after the transition to ROTASIIL. METHODS: Children aged under 5 y hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in four hospitals in Odisha between January and December 2023 were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Stool samples were tested for rotavirus using an enzyme immunoassay. Clinical and demographic data were collected and analyzed according to rotavirus status. RESULTS: Of 365 children enrolled, 288 had their stool samples tested for rotavirus. Rotavirus was detected in 67 (23.3%) of the samples tested. The incidence of rotavirus-positive AGE was higher in boys than in girls, and rotavirus positivity was higher from November to March than during the rest of the year. Most rotavirus-positive children were of low socioeconomic status. The incidence of severe to very severe dehydration was 78% in the rotavirus-positive group compared with 69.2% in the rotavirus-negative group. No deaths were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Rotavirus remains an important cause of AGE in children aged under 5 y in Odisha, despite the introduction of rotavirus vaccination. The rotavirus positivity rate was lower than that reported in previous studies, suggesting a positive effect of vaccination. High vaccination coverage, addressing poverty, and prompt clinical management are essential to mitigate the impact of rotavirus diarrhea in Odisha.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
Problem
Rotavirus diarrhea as a leading cause of morbidity and severe dehydration in children under 5 years
- Intervention
- Introduction of rotavirus vaccination (Rotavac from April 2016, switched to ROTASIIL in January 2022)
- Population
- Children aged under 5 years hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis in four hospitals in Odisha, India
Key finding
Rotavirus detected in 23.3% (67/288) of stool samples tested