Rotavirus Statistics: An Overview
Rotavirus is a virus that causes severe
diarrhea, often accompanied by vomiting, fever, and dehydration. It is most often seen in babies and young children.
In the United States, rotavirus is responsible for approximately 5 to 10 percent of all episodes of diarrhea among children younger than 5 years of age. However, because rotavirus causes more severe diarrhea than other viruses or bacteria, it accounts for 40 to 50 percent of diarrhea hospitalizations.
Within the United States, in the first 5 years of life:
- Four out of five children will develop rotavirus diarrhea
- One in seven will require a clinic or emergency room visit
- One in 78 will require hospitalization
- One in 200,000 children will die from rotavirus-related diarrhea.
This comes to about 400,000 doctor visits, more than 200,000 emergency room visits, 55,000 to 70,000 hospitalizations, and between 20 and 60 related deaths each year.
Rotavirus Statistics: Economic Impact
Rotavirus leads to about $1 billion in healthcare costs and lost productivity per year in the United States. Despite efforts to improve the management of childhood rotavirus-associated diarrhea, hospitalizations of children in the United States with the disease have not significantly declined in the past two decades. Hospitalizations are usually the most severe and costly outcome of rotavirus disease in children in the United States.
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