Abstract
Rotavirus (RV) is an important cause of diarrheal disease particularly in children aged under 5 years. Monovalent RV vaccine (RVV) was selectively introduced in 2012 in the Philippines and in July 2014 was introduced in the public health program of a province. Two RVV doses are recommended at 6 and 10 weeks of age. We conducted a test negative case-control evaluation to assess the effectiveness of RVV when given in a routine public health program in the Philippines. From September 2014 to August 2017, 967 children aged <5 years were hospitalized with diarrhea and of these, we enrolled 600 who were eligible to have received RVV and provided stool specimens for testing. Among children ≥8 months of age who were age-eligible to have received RVV, at least one dose of RVV had an adjusted vaccine effectiveness (VE) against RV hospitalization of 60% (95% confidence interval, CI: 24%, 79%), and against severe rotavirus diarrhea, VE was 64% (95% CI: 11%, 85%). These findings support the introduction of RVV into routine public health use in the Philippines. However, other factors such as costs, cost-effectiveness and operational issues must be considered prior to adoption of the vaccine into the countries’ public immunization program.
Highlights
Diarrheal disease is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in young children in the developing world
We found that the monovalent rotavirus vaccine (RVV) is effective against RV diarrhea in the Philippines, a lower middle income country in Asia
Lower vaccine effectiveness (VE) was identified in older children in our study and may suggest waning effectiveness, it is possible that unvaccinated children acquire infection earlier and are no longer susceptible to clinically significant infection because of natural acquired immunity[11]
Summary
Diarrheal disease is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in young children in the developing world. There were problems in identifying the children, there were questions on the economic sustainability of the program and due to the varying levels of protection provided by the vaccine, policymakers in the Philippines requested that an effectiveness evaluation be conducted to assess the RV vaccine’s relevance for inclusion in the country’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
