Importance and challenges of accurately counting rotavirus deaths in China, 2002.

Rotavirus mortality is an important component of the total burden of rotavirus disease for children under 5 years old, but accurate estimation is difficult for many developing countries. Here we applied a more direct method to improve estimates of rotavirus mortality in China using 2002 Chinese-specific data. Results indicate that in 2002, approximately 13,400 children under 5 years old in China died from rotavirus and 70% of these deaths occur in rural areas. Thus, a national rotavirus immunization program targeting rural areas with high mortality from diarrhoea could dramatically reduce these deaths and urban areas could reduce childhood hospitalizations attributed to rotavirus by 43%.