The introduction of compulsory vaccination of infants against rotavirus in 2006 not only significantly reduced the incidence of severe gastroenteritis in children under the age of 5, but also reduced the incidence of adult patients.
According to Dr. Paul A. Gastanaduy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (USA). In his opinion, this is an indirect effect of vaccination, resulting from the reduction of virus transmission.
Dr. Gastanaduy analyzed the gastrointestinal reasons for hospitalizing children and adults before and after the introduction of universal rotavirus vaccination. He used the national American medical database – Nationwide Inpatient Sampl. He focused on the period between January 2000 and December 2010, where he considered the years 2000-2006 to be the “pre-vaccination” period, and the years 2008-2010 – the “vaccine” period. 2007, as a transitional period, was excluded from the analysis.
It turned out that – in comparison to the times before the introduction of the vaccination obligation – in the years 2008-2010 the number of hospitalizations due to rotavirus infections in the age groups 0-4 years, 5-14 years and 15-24 years decreased statistically. A similar situation occurred in the case of other gastrointestinal ailments, not clearly identified as rotavirus. Here, additionally, this decrease also applied to patients aged 25-44.
“The pattern we’ve seen in reducing severe gastrointestinal events among unvaccinated older children and adults is consistent with the theory of indirect protection from infant vaccination,” says Gastanaduy.
“These results clearly show that the priority in transmitting rotavirus is given to children and illustrate the benefits of mandatory vaccination against these viruses,” he adds. (PAP)
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