June 26, 2008

New data show substantial progress against rotavirus in the United States

New data, published today in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), indicate a dramatic reduction in seasonal incidence of rotavirus coinciding with increased use of rotavirus vaccine, which was recommended for US infants in February 2006. CDC surveillance data indicate that seasonal incidence of rotavirus dropped more than 50 percent during 2007-2008 in the US, and that the current rotavirus season began two to four months later than usual. During the first 18 weeks of 2008, only six percent of samples tested positive for rotavirus, compared to 51 percent in 2006 and 54 percent in 2007 over the same 18-week period. Both the drop in magnitude and delay in seasonal onset coincide with increasing use of rotavirus vaccines in the US.

The most common form of severe diarrhea in children, rotavirus accounts for over 50,000 hospitalizations, more than 200,000 emergency department visits, and 410,000 physician office visits in the US annually. Readily accessible medical care means that children in the US rarely die from the disease; however, rotavirus is estimated to take the lives of more then 500,000 children around the world each year, nearly all in low-income countries.

PATH’s Rotavirus Vaccine Program (RVP) is a partnership with the World Health Organization and the US CDC, funded by the GAVI Alliance. By collaborating closely with the vaccine industry, public health organizations, donors, and governments, RVP is working to make rotavirus vaccines accessible to children worldwide. 

Read the full MMWR report here.

The PATH Rotavirus Vaccine Program is supported by the GAVI Alliance.

Click here to send this to a colleague

Click here to subscribe