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Published on: January 28, 2019
Rotavirus Vaccine Impact since Its Introduction in the National Immunization Program of Argentina
Sebastian Garcia Marti1, Luz Gibbons2, Sara Reidel2
1Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria, Buenos Aires, Argentina. sgarciamarti@iecs.org.ar.
Insights
The rotavirus (RV) vaccine significantly reduced acute diarrheal disease (ADD) and RV cases in children under two years old in Argentina. This public health intervention led to fewer hospitalizations, demonstrating the vaccine
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Vaccinology
- Public Health Surveillance
Background:
- Rotavirus (RV) is a primary cause of severe diarrhea in young children globally.
- Argentina integrated the RV vaccine into its National Immunization Program in January 2015.
- Evaluating the vaccine's impact on disease burden is crucial for public health policy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effect of RV vaccination on acute diarrheal disease (ADD) and RV-specific cases.
- To quantify the reduction in hospitalizations related to ADD and RV infection post-vaccination.
- To analyze vaccine impact in children under five years old in Argentina.
Main Methods:
- A counterfactual time-series analysis was employed.
- Data on ADD and RV cases (2013-2018) and hospital discharges (2011-2017) were collected from national surveillance systems.
- Vaccine impact was calculated by comparing predicted trends with actual post-vaccination data (2015-2018).
Main Results:
- A 22.1% decrease in notified ADD cases and a 15.4% reduction in ADD-related hospital discharges were observed in children under two years.
- Notified RV cases significantly declined by 54.0% (under two years) and 59.4% (under one year).
- RV-related hospital discharges decreased by 39.3% (under two years) and 40.8% (under one year).
Conclusions:
- The introduction of the rotavirus vaccine in Argentina led to a significant decrease in ADD and RV cases.
- Hospitalizations due to ADD and RV infections substantially reduced in children under two years old.
- The RV vaccine is an effective public health tool for reducing childhood diarrheal disease burden.
Introduction:
Rotavirus (RV) is the most common cause of childhood diarrhea. Argentina introduced RV vaccination in the National Immunization Program in January 2015. This study evaluates the impact of RV vaccine implementation on the burden of acute diarrheal disease (ADD) and RV positive cases, and hospitalizations among children in Argentina.
Methods:
A counterfactual time-series analysis was performed. Data on ADD (2013-2018) and RV diarrhea (2012-2018) cases in children aged < 5 years were collected from the National Healthcare Surveillance System (clinical and laboratory data). Data on hospital discharges following ADD and RV diarrhea (2011-2017) were retrieved from the Health Statistics and Information Office. All data were classified by the age groups < 1 year, < 2 years, 2-5 years. Vaccine impact was defined as the difference between the predicted time trend (simulated using 2012-2014 data) and the actual post-vaccination data (2015-2018).
Results:
A significant reduction of 22.1% of notified ADD cases and 15.4% of hospital discharges following ADD among children < 2 years was observed in the 3 years after RV vaccine implementation. Data also showed a significant decline of 54.0% and 59.4% of notified RV cases in children < 2 and < 1 years, respectively, and a reduction of 39.3% and 40.8% in RV hospital discharges for the same age groups.
Conclusion:
This study shows a significant reduction in notified ADD cases and RV cases and hospital discharges following ADD and RV cases in children < 2 years after RV vaccine introduction in Argentina in 2015.
