Background and aim of the work Rotaviruses (RV) represent the main cause of ga- stroenteritis in children worldwide (1). It is estimated that they are responsible for a large number of diarrhea associated hospitalizations in childhood each year (2). These infective agents are ubiquitous and about 95% of children worldwide are infected before 3-5 years of age (3). The highest incidence occurs between 6 and 24 months (4); during the first 12 months of li- fe the risk of severe forms, which require hospitaliza- tion, is particularly high, due to the high risk of dehy- dration in infants and the difficulty in restoring their electrolyte balance. RV infections can affect adults, often in sub-clini- cal forms, and occasionally determine clinically evi- dent cases in parents of children with diarrhoea, in immunodeficient patients, in the elderly, and in tra- vellers who visit developing countries (5). RV are transmitted from person to person, mainly through the fecal-oral route, even though a possible transmission through respiratory secretions and con- taminated surfaces has been hypothesized (6, 7). RV are very contagious and it is estimated that 10 plaque forming units (PFU) are sufficient to transmit Burden of hospitalizations due to Rotavirus infection in Emilia Romagna, Italy Giovanni Gabutti 1 , Claudio Lazzara 1 , Maria Marsella 2 , Mauro Bergamini 1 , Cristina Malaventura 2 , Caterina Borgna-Pignatti 2 1 Section of Hygiene and Occupational Health, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Ferrara; 2 Section of Paediatrics, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Ferrara Abstract. The aim of this study was to collect data on hospitalizations due to gastrointestinal diseases, in par- ticular Rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE), in the Region of Emilia Romagna, Italy.The national hospital dis- charge database was used to evaluate the epidemiology of RV infections in the 2000-2003 period, analyzing only the principal diagnosis. The available age groups were 0-14 years, 15-64 years and, >64 years. Hospi- talization related costs were estimated through Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) rates even though a spe- cific DRG for RVGE does not exist. In the 0-14yr. old subjects, RV were responsible for an average of 310 GE-related hospitalizations per year and globally represented 17% of admissions for enteritis and 84% of hospitalized viral GE. Fifty-six percent of the enteritis was of undefined origin. Considering the three pos- sible DRG codes to which the disease can be referred (184, 298, 422) and the classification of hospitals in two categories, the cost of each admission for RVGE ranged between 1,293.83 ∂ and 2,263.79 ∂. RV seems to play an important role as a cause of severe viral gastroenteritis, although RV infections are certainly un- derestimated for several reasons, one of them being the low sensitivity of hospital discharge forms. Today we have safe and effective vaccines that can be used in order to protect from moderate/severe forms of RV-re- lated diarrhea. The extensive use of these vaccines could reduce hospitalizations and related costs in indus- trialized countries. (www.actabiomedica.it) Key words: Rotavirus, hospitalizations, epidemiology, costs O R I G I N A L A R T I C L E ACTA BIOMED 2007; 78: 176-181 © Mattioli 1885