Rotavirus epidemiology 5-6 years after universal rotavirus vaccination: persistent rotavirus activity in older children and elderly.

Background: Rotavirus (RV) vaccination using RotaTeq vaccine exclusively was introduced into Finnish National Immunization Program (NIP) in 2009, and soon reached high (≥90%) coverage. Since mid-2013, all stool samples from laboratory diagnosed cases of RV gastroenteritis in the entire country have been typed.

Methods: 364 RV positive stool samples collected from clinical laboratories over a 2-year period were G- and P-typed using RT-PCR, and the results were confirmed by sequencing.