Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, 222 Banpodaero, Seochogu, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea.
Eur J Pediatr. 2013 Jul;172(7):947-52. doi: 10.1007/s00431-013-1974-y. Epub 2013 Feb 27.
Rotavirus gastroenteritis is the leading cause of severe acute gastroenteritis in children worldwide and is associated with high hospitalization and mortality rates in children younger than 5 years of age. Vaccination is necessary to prevent rotavirus infection. Two live attenuated and orally administered rotavirus vaccines became commercially available in Korea. The aim of this study is to describe epidemiological changes in rotavirus gastroenteritis after the introduction of rotavirus vaccines in Korea. The medical records of 11,199 children younger than 5 years of age and hospitalized for acute gastroenteritis from August 2007 to July 2010 in eight Korean hospitals were reviewed. Rotavirus was detected in stool samples obtained from 2,959 children (26.42 %). The authors evaluated the percentage of rotavirus gastroenteritis among all acute gastroenteritis hospitalizations in eight hospitals located in different geographical areas and analyzed epidemiological changes in rotavirus gastroenteritis according to age, geographical area, and season. According to the findings, the percentage of rotavirus gastroenteritis showed a decrease in children eligible for vaccination during the study period. After introduction of the vaccine, reduced rates of rotavirus detection were observed in all of the geographical areas, and the greatest reduction was observed in Seoul. In Seoul, there was a marked delay of the rotavirus season.
Epidemiologic changes in Korea after the introduction of rotavirus vaccine are consistent with changes observed in other countries.
轮状病毒胃肠炎是全球导致严重急性胃肠炎的主要原因，并且与 5 岁以下儿童的高住院率和死亡率相关。接种疫苗是预防轮状病毒感染的必要措施。两种减毒活的、口服的轮状病毒疫苗在韩国已获准上市。本研究旨在描述轮状病毒疫苗在韩国上市后轮状病毒胃肠炎的流行病学变化。作者回顾了 2007 年 8 月至 2010 年 7 月在韩国的 8 家医院因急性胃肠炎住院的 11199 名 5 岁以下儿童的病历。从 2959 名儿童的粪便样本中检测到轮状病毒（26.42%）。作者评估了 8 家地理位置不同的医院所有急性胃肠炎住院患儿中轮状病毒胃肠炎的比例，并根据年龄、地理位置和季节分析轮状病毒胃肠炎的流行病学变化。研究结果表明，在研究期间，符合疫苗接种条件的儿童中轮状病毒胃肠炎的比例有所下降。疫苗接种后，所有地理位置的轮状病毒检出率均有所下降，首尔的下降幅度最大。在首尔，轮状病毒流行季节明显延迟。
韩国轮状病毒疫苗上市后的流行病学变化与其他国家观察到的变化一致。
