Hospital‐acquired rotavirus acute gastroenteritis in 10 consecutive seasons in Umbria (Italy)

Abstract

Group A rotaviruses (RVA) are the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in young (aged <5 years) children. Several studies showed that RVA are one of the main cause of nosocomial gastroenteritis in hospitalised paediatric population worldwide, with an incidence ranging from 8 to 33 cases per 100 hospitalized children. Nosocomial infections, in which AGE symptoms develop at least 2 days after admission, may severely affect children already admitted to hospital for other causes. This study aimed to define the trends of the RVA genotypes through statistical analysis of the data obtained by the rotavirus surveillance in Umbria in 10 consecutive seasons, from 2007‐2008 to 2016‐2017, with update information on hospital‐acquired RVA AGE. Methods During RVA gastroenteritis surveillance in Umbria (Italy) in 2007‐2017, a total of 741 RVA positive faecal samples were collected from children hospitalized with AGE, and RVA strains were genotyped following standard EuroRotaNet protocols. Findings Of the 741 analyzed samples, 75 (10%) were reported to be hospital‐acquired. Comparing the distributions of the RVA genotypes circulating in the community or associated with nosocomial infections, we observed a different distribution of genotypes circulating inside the hospital wards, with respect to those observed in the community except in 2010‐2011, 2011‐2012 and 2012‐2013 when G1P[8], G4P[8] and the novel strain G12P[8] caused a large community‐ and hospital‐acquired outbreak. Conclusion The information from this study will be useful to implement guidelines for preventing nosocomial RVA AGE, which should include an improved management of the hospitalized patients and an increase in vaccination coverage.