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In anticipation of a future vaccination program against rotavirus disease, a longitudinal survey has been set up to evaluate the epidemiologic features of rotavirus infections. In this report hospitalisation data and serotyping results are compiled from an epidemiologic survey conducted in Baranya County, Hungary. It was found that rotavirus-associated hospitalisation constituted a major part of infectious gastroenteritis cases (range, 14.9% to 28.5%). A higher proportion of rotavirus-positive cases was recorded when the serotype of predominant strains changed from G1 (1996-1999) to G4 (1999-2000), however, due to the short time period it was not possible to demonstrate a firm association between serotype prevalence and rotavirus-associated hospitalisation rate. In the future, such studies might help to understand if serotype-specific immunity against rotavirus infection plays an important role at the population level and if (re-)emerging rotavirus strains make an impact on the annual disease burden.

Health Hazard Appraisal (HHA) is a technique providing quantitative assessment of health risks assumed by individuals. This paper describes the structure and operation of CHAMP, a modularized computer package designed for widespread use of HHA. Thus its design incorporates stringent criteria which include flexibility, expandability, adaptability to varied populations, error corrective capability, and low-cost operation. The experience with CHAMP in service has been excellent.