Expert consensus on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) in children (2020)

Abstract

Rotavirus is the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis in children under 5 years worldwide. Every child aged 3 to 5 years has experienced at least one episode of rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE). In China, RVGE accounts for approximately 40% and 30% of diarrhea-related hospitalizations and outpatient visits in children under 5 years, and about 90% of RVGE occur in the children under 2 years. RVGE imposes heave burden to health care system and family and has gained wide attention from public health. World Health Organization ranked RVGE as the high priority vaccine-preventable disease. As of October 2019, 102 countries and regions have incorporated rotavirus vaccine into national immunization program, which has remarkably reduced disease burden and death associated with RVGE in children under 5 years worldwide. For this purpose, the Yangtze River Delta Immunization Integration Working Group, Chinese Medical Association Infectious Diseases Branch Pediatric Infection and Hepatology Group formulated the 'Expert consensus on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of rotavirus gastroenteritis in children' based on the latest and important English and Chinese literatures. This consensus will be briefly described in the perspective of epidemiology, disease burden, clinical characteristics, laboratory diagnosis, prevention and treatment to comprehensively landscape the epidemiology of rotavirus, scientifically evaluate the clinical symptoms and disease burden of rotavirus infection, comprehensively consider the vaccination prevention and treatment measures, and further construct and improve the integrated prevention and control strategy of RVGE in the region of Yangtze River Delta.