Abstract
Rotavirus gastroenteritides are among the most common childhood diseases affecting both developed and less developed countries. The high proportion of hospitalized children, treatment costs, complications and even deaths in countries with a low level of health care have initiated the efforts to develop a suitable vaccine against this infectious disease.
The two currently used oral attenuated vaccines are being implemented in national immunization programmes in accordance with WHO recommendations. The countries with good-quality pre-vaccination and vaccination surveillance have an opportunity to observe the economic as well as health impacts of vaccination on the health of both the paediatric and adult populations.
An example of a Central European country is Austria with available data covering the period of population-wide vaccination. These data can be utilized by other countries lacking such good-quality surveillance.
Careful post-registration monitoring related to the potential minimal risk of increased intussusception continues to be of utmost importance.