WHO estimated that diarrheal diseases were responsible for about 20% of deaths among children aged less than five years in the Eastern Mediterranean Region in 2008.  WHO estimates showed also that rotavirus is responsible for about 90 000 deaths among children aged less than five years in the Eastern Mediterranean Region in 2008, which accounts for around 40% of the diarrheal deaths in this age group. The regional rotavirus gastroenteritis surveillance network showed that rotavirus is the cause of about 40% of the hospitalized diarrheal cases among children aged less than five years.

Generic protocols for monitoring impact of rotavirus vaccination on gastroenteritis disease burden and viral strains,  January 2009. [pdf 1.18 Mb]