Rotavirus prevalence in the primary care setting in Nicaragua after universal infant rotavirus immunization

Nicaragua was the first developing nation to implement universal infant rotavirus immunization with the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine (RV5). Initial studies of vaccine effectiveness in Nicaragua and other developing nations have focused on the prevention of hospitalizations and severe rotavirus diarrhea. However, rotavirus diarrhea is more commonly treated in the primary care setting, with only 1-3% of rotavirus cases receiving hospital care. We measured the prevalence of rotavirus infection in primary care clinics in León, Nicaragua, after introduction of the immunization program. In the post-vaccine period, 3.5% (95% confidence interval = 1.9-5.8) of children seeking care for diarrhea tested positive for rotavirus. A high diversity of rotavirus genotypes was encountered among the few positive samples. In conclusion, rotavirus was an uncommon cause of childhood diarrhea in this primary care setting after implementation of a rotavirus immunization program.