XXXX in Israel.

@entity1 @entity573 @entity574
OBJECTIVE: To characterize the epidemiology and estimate the incidence of @entity573 ( @entity573 ) among @entity1 in Israel. METHODS: Using the Israel National Hospital Discharge Register, we investigated the epidemiologic features of @entity573 among @entity1 <18 years of age between 1996 to 2009 in Israel. Incidence rates were calculated using the corresponding census data. RESULTS: During 1996 through 2009, 685 @entity1 <18 years of age were hospitalized for @entity573 in Israel. Of these @entity1 , 88% were aged <5 years; the male/female ratio was 1.7:1; and most cases occurred in late winter-early spring. The overall incidence of @entity573 was 6.4 per 100,000 @entity1 <5 years of age. Since 2000, there was a gradual increase in @entity573 incidence as well as in the ratio of @entity573 -associated hospitalizations to all-cause pediatric hospitalizations. For male @entity1 <1 year of age, @entity573 rates almost doubled: from 5.8 per 100,000 cases in 1996-1998 to an average of 11.9 cases per 100,000 in the following years (P = 0.002). The overall proportion of @entity1 with @entity574 was 2.9%, higher rates of @entity574 were observed in @entity1 <1 or >5 years of age and in male @entity1 . CONCLUSIONS: Major epidemiologic features of @entity573 among Israeli @entity1 are similar to those reported for the white population in Europe and the United States. @entity573 incidence increased during the study period, especially among male @entity1 <1 year of age.
