The Value of Rotavirus Vaccination in Europe: A Call for Action

Cohen, Robert; Martinón-Torres, Federico; Posiuniene, Inga; Benninghoff, Bernd; Oh, Kyu-Bin; Poelaert, Dirk

doi:10.1007/s40121-022-00697-7

Cited by 10 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Moreover, as of January 2023, 123 countries have introduced RVA vaccines in their national immunization programs (NIP) [VIEW-hub by IVAC/platform on vaccine use and impact] (https://www.jhsph.edu/ivac/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/VIEW-hub_Report_ Jan2023.pdf, accessed on 29 June 2023). Despite the extensive use of RVA vaccines globally, RVA infection remains a major cause of diarrhea-associated disease and death in young children [3,11]. RVA vaccines are highly effective at reducing the burden of RVA-associated AGE (deaths, hospitalizations, and severe disease) in high-income settings; however, lower effectiveness has been reported in low-and middle-income countries [12,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rotavirus A during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil, 2020–2022: Emergence of G6P[8] Genotype

Gutierrez

Assis

et al. 2023

Viruses

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Rotavirus A (RVA) remains a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) hospitalizations in children worldwide. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a reduction in vaccination coverage in Brazil and elsewhere was observed, and some reports have demonstrated a reduction in AGE notifications during the pandemic. This study aims to investigate the diversity and prevalence of RVA genotypes in children and adults presenting with AGE symptoms in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2022. RVA was screened using RT-qPCR; then, G and P genotypes were characterized using one-step multiplex RT-PCR. A total of 2173 samples were investigated over the three-year period, and we detected RVA in 7.7% of samples (n = 167), being 15.5% in 2020, 0.5% in 2021, and 13.8% in 2022. Higher RVA prevalence was observed in the Northeastern region (19.3%) compared to the Southeastern (6.1%) and Southern regions (5.5%). The most affected age group was children aged between 0 and 6 months old; however, this was not statistically significant. Genotyping and phylogenetic analysis identified the emergence of G6P[8] during the period; moreover, it was detected in 10.6% of samples in 2020 and in 83.5% in 2022. In contrast, the prevalence of G3P[8], the previous dominant genotype, decreased from 72.3% in 2020 to 11.3% in 2022. We also identified unusual strains, such as G3P[9] and G9P[4], being sporadically detected during the period. This is the first report on the molecular epidemiology and surveillance of RVA during the COVID-19 pandemic period in Brazil. Our study provides evidence for the importance of maintaining high and sustainable levels of vaccine coverage to protect against RVA disease. Furthermore, it highlights the need to maintain nationwide surveillance in order to monitor future trends and changes in the epidemiology of RVA in Brazil.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rotavirus A during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil, 2020–2022: Emergence of G6P[8] Genotype

Gutierrez

Assis

et al. 2023

Viruses

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Additions to the evidence base supporting safety and effectiveness of these vaccines in specific contexts can further drive demand and support for these vaccine introductions into country routine immunization schedules. To accelerate global access to DTPCV4 and HepB-BD, targeted funding to support introductions, innovative strategies to address country awareness, and logistical support (e.g., trained staff members and cold chain management) to ensure timely access to vaccination, are needed (9,10).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Status of New Vaccine Introduction — Worldwide, 2016–2021

Kaur¹,

Casey²,

Patel³

et al. 2023

MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep.

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This report describes the status of introductions globally for eight World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended new and underutilized vaccines, comprising 10 individual vaccine antigens. By 2021, among 194 countries worldwide, 33 (17%) provided all of these 10 WHO-recommended antigens as part of their routine immunization schedules; only one low-income country had introduced all of these recommended vaccines. Universal hepatitis B birth dose; human papillomavirus vaccine; rotavirus vaccine; and diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis-containing vaccine first booster dose have been introduced by 57%, 59%, 60%, and 72% of all countries worldwide, respectively. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, rubella-containing vaccine, measles-containing vaccine second dose, and Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine have been introduced by 78%, 89%, 94%, and 99% of all countries, respectively. The annual rate of new vaccine introductions declined precipitously when the COVID-19 pandemic started, from 48 in 2019 to 15 in 2020 before rising to 26 in 2021. Increased efforts to accelerate new and underutilized vaccine introductions are urgently needed to improve universal equitable access to all recommended vaccines to achieve the global Immunization Agenda 2021-2030 (IA2030) targets.

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“…In turn, the relaxation of the sanitary regime was recognized as a risk of a rebound of infectious diseases in children, including rotaviral infections. 51 However, in 2023, the rate of new cases of rotaviral infections decreased again (by over three-fold), with two complementary explanations behind this phenomenon. First, the rotavirus infection decreases the likelihood of reinfection or severe infection (which is more likely to be identified and reported) in the subsequent years, though not in all children.…”

Section: Fecal-oral Route Infectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The burden of infectious diseases throughout and after the COVID‐19 pandemic (2020–2023) and Russo‐Ukrainian war migration

Rzymski,

Zarębska‐Michaluk,

Parczewski

et al. 2024

Journal of Medical Virology

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Understanding how the infectious disease burden was affected throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic is pivotal to identifying potential hot spots and guiding future mitigation measures. Therefore, our study aimed to analyze the changes in the rate of new cases of Poland's most frequent infectious diseases during the entire COVID‐19 pandemic and after the influx of war refugees from Ukraine. We performed a registry‐based population‐wide study in Poland to analyze the changes in the rate of 24 infectious disease cases from 2020 to 2023 and compared them to the prepandemic period (2016–2019). Data were collected from publicly archived datasets of the Epimeld database published by national epidemiological authority institutions. The rate of most of the studied diseases (66.6%) revealed significantly negative correlations with the rate of SARS‐CoV‐2 infections. For the majority of infectious diseases, it substantially decreased in 2020 (in case of 83%) and 2021 (63%), following which it mostly rebounded to the prepandemic levels and, in some cases, exceeded them in 2023 when the exceptionally high annual rates of new cases of scarlet fever, Streptococcus pneumoniae infections, HIV infections, syphilis, gonococcal infections, and tick‐borne encephalitis were noted. The rate of Clostridioides difficile enterocolitis was two‐fold higher than before the pandemic from 2021 onward. The rate of Legionnaires’ disease in 2023 also exceeded the prepandemic threshold, although this was due to a local outbreak unrelated to lifted COVID‐19 pandemic restrictions or migration of war refugees. The influx of war migrants from Ukraine could impact the epidemiology of sexually transmitted diseases. The present analysis indicates that continued efforts are needed to prevent COVID‐19 from overwhelming healthcare systems again and decreasing the control over the burden of other infectious diseases. It also identifies the potential tipping points that require additional mitigation measures, which are also discussed in the paper, to avoid escalation in the future.

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The Value of Rotavirus Vaccination in Europe: A Call for Action

Cited by 10 publications

References 67 publications

Rotavirus A during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil, 2020–2022: Emergence of G6P[8] Genotype

Rotavirus A during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil, 2020–2022: Emergence of G6P[8] Genotype

Status of New Vaccine Introduction — Worldwide, 2016–2021

The burden of infectious diseases throughout and after the COVID‐19 pandemic (2020–2023) and Russo‐Ukrainian war migration

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