Review of rotavirus studies in Africa: 1976-2006.
J Infect Dis
; 202 Suppl: S23-33, 2010 Sep 01.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20684708
BACKGROUND: Rotavirus is a common cause of severe diarrheal disease in children worldwide. Ninety percent of the associated deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia. Our aim was to review the prevalence of rotavirus infection in Africa over the past 30 years. METHODS: Eligible studies were identified from 3 Medline searches. Only studies including children <5 years of age that included >50 children and had an observational period >3 months were included. The data were analyzed during 3 periods (1976-1985, 1986-1995, and 1996-2006), as a summary (1976-2006), and by different study settings (ie, hospital, outpatient department, and combined). RESULTS: The initial search identified 206 studies from 27 countries during 1976-2006. The refined search yielded 101 studies, of which 58 (57%) were hospital based, 25 (25%) were outpatient studies, and 18 (18%) were combined. Rotavirus was detected in 25% (interquartile range, 16%-32%) of stool samples. Rotavirus was the most common agent identified in 73% of studies in which multiple diarrheal agents were determined. CONCLUSION: Rotavirus is an important cause of severe diarrheal disease in children <5 years of age in Africa. Clinical trials in South Africa and Malawi have shown that severe rotavirus disease is a vaccine-preventable entity in Africa.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Rotavirus Infections
/
Diarrhea
Type of study:
Incidence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
/
Systematic_reviews
Limits:
Child, preschool
/
Humans
/
Infant
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
En
Journal:
J Infect Dis
Year:
2010
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
South Africa
Country of publication:
United States