Epidemiology of Acute Gastroenteritis Caused by Rotavirus among Children Less than Five Years Old Admitted in Hospital, in North India.

OBJECTIVES: To report the data of burden of rotaviral acute gastroenteritis in under-five children from two states post-introduction of the vaccine. METHODS: Children under 5 y of age hospitalized with diarrhea from the states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh in north India were recruited in the study. Commercially available ELISA kits were used for testing rotavirus in the collected stool samples. Genotyping of the positive samples was done by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Out of 345 samples collected, 69 (20%) were found to be positive for rotavirus by ELISA. Genotyping was done and G3P[8] (31.3%), G1P[8] (13.4%), G2P[4] (13.4%) were found to be prevalent strains. Mixed strains were also found in 19.4% stool samples. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlighted the high burden of rotavirus associated diarrhea in north Indian states. The data is helpful for evaluating the impact of vaccine on the severity of acute gastroenteritis and the changing strains after the introduction of rotavirus vaccine in the Universal Immunization Program.

Epidemiology of Hospitalized Intussusception Cases from Northern States in India.

OBJECTIVE: To describe epidemiology of intussusception post-introduction of the rotavirus vaccine. METHODS: Hospital-based active surveillance system was set up in three tertiary care hospitals in Chandigarh and Haryana, India, to enroll children <2 y of age admitted with intussusception as per Brighton Collaboration Level-I criteria. The clinical characteristics, treatment modalities, seasonal trends, and outcome of the illness episodes were described. RESULTS: A total of 224 cases were reported. Majority were males (71%) and infants (69.5%). Number of intussusception was more in summer season. Location of intussusception was ileo-colic in 85% of the cases. Nearly 54% cases were treated conservatively and 46% needed surgical intervention. CONCLUSION: Surveillance data provided the epidemiological description of intussusception cases post-introduction of the rotavirus vaccine in northern India. This data could be used to assess the impact of vaccine and safety with a special focus on intussusception.