Update on rotavirus trends and the importance of surveillance.

Rotavirus remains the number one cause of severe diarrhea in children aged 5 years in the United States and worldwide. Each year in the United States, rotavirus is responsible for approximately 600,000 outpatient medical visits, 55 to 70,000 hospitalizations, and 20 to 60 deaths. Disease caused by rotavirus is extremely common as almost every child is infected in the first 5 years of life. Rotavirus infections in the United States come at a high price: the estimated annual health and societal costs related to rotavirus amount to total 1 billion dollars each year. Rotavirus infections are common in developing countries where the morbidity and the mortality are far greater.