Prospective study of the burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis in Danish children and their families

This was the first study to characterize the total burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) at both hospital and general physician (GP) clinics in Denmark, and also the first to confirm rotavirus (RV) as the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis (GE) among children <5 years in GP clinics nationwide. Several aspects of RVGE were reported, including the impact of RVGE on family life by changes in HRQoL and by the number of days absent from day care. RV was detected in 225 (63.6%) children, and the median number of days absent from day care was 5 days. In 43.0% of the families, at least one family member, a total of 170 individuals, experienced symptoms of acute GE. Reduced health-related quality of life was observed both among children and parents. Our data suggested that RVGE indirectly as well as directly is a major public health burden in Denmark and comparable with data from other European countries.