India Sees Dramatic Drop in Severe Rotavirus โฃdiarrhea Following National Vaccine Rollout
New Delhi – A โnationwide studyโ reveals โa significant decline in rotavirus-related hospitalizations โคamong Indian children โunder five following the introduction of the indigenous Rotavac vaccine intoโฃ the Universal โImmunization program in 2016. The โฃresearch, involving 31 sentinel hospitals, demonstrates the vaccine’s effectiveness in combating a leading cause of โฃsevere diarrheal disease.
Priorโฃ to โคthe vaccine’s implementation, โขrotavirus was a major publicโฃ health concern in India, responsible for a substantial proportion ofโข acute gastroenteritis cases requiring โฃhospitalization. The study focused on assessing the impact of โrotavac in โคfive โstates – Andhra Pradesh, Himachal โPradesh, Haryana, Odisha, and โTamil Nadu – leveragingโข dataโฃ from five hospitals that had participated โin earlier rotavirus surveillance networks as โค2012 (references Kumar et al., Kang et al., and Babji et al.). Researchers compared rotavirus positivity rates in hospitalizedโค children before and afterโข vaccine introduction, analyzing โage distribution and overall reduction in cases.
An interrupted time series analysis, โฃa method โused toโ isolateโข the vaccine’s effectโฃ from other influencing factors โ(reference Hungerfordโข et al.), confirmed a substantial and sustained decrease in rotavirus infections. โThe findings provide criticalโฃ evidence supporting the continued success of India’s immunization program and offer valuable insights for similarโฃ initiatives in other developing โขnations.โ Further details on the study’s methodologyโ are available in the Nature Portfolio Reporting โSummary linked โขto the research.