Continued surveillance is required to monitor for strain changes that may alter vaccine effectiveness or that may be a result of vaccination. However, data on strain changes need to be very carefully evaluated before attributing them to vaccination. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. “
“Diarrhea is the second-leading cause of childhood mortality worldwide, and is responsible for approximately 1.34 million deaths each year in children under 5 years of age [1]. Rotavirus is the primary cause of diarrheal disease in this population, accounting for 30–40% of diarrheal deaths [2]. Although the illness affects children in every

country, over 90% of the deaths occur in the developing world. The introduction of effective rotavirus vaccines creates the possibility of significantly reducing NVP-AUY922 manufacturer diarrheal mortality and hospitalizations. Growing evidence from middle and upper income countries where rotavirus vaccination has been introduced, suggests that the vaccine selleck chemical is associated with reduced hospitalizations and even death among children less than 5 years of age. According to recent reports from Europe, Australia and the United States, reductions of 70–95% of hospitalizations for rotavirus-specific diarrhea

and 35–48% for all-cause diarrhea have occurred after the vaccine was introduced into routine immunization programs [3], [4], [5], [6], [7] and [8]. These reductions in diarrheal hospitalizations have also been observed in lower-middle income countries in Latin America [9] and [10]. Montelukast Sodium For the first time, real reductions in diarrheal deaths have also been recorded. In Mexico, researchers observed a 35% reduction in childhood diarrheal deaths after vaccine introduction, and in Brazil similar

trends were seen [11], [12] and [13]. In low-income countries that bear the vast majority of rotavirus mortality, there is less direct evidence of the effectiveness of vaccination at scale, in part because many of these countries are only now making decisions regarding national universal vaccination programs. Nicaragua introduced the vaccine into the routine immunization schedule in 2006 – the first GAVI-eligible country to do so. A 46% reduction against all rotavirus hospitalizations was noted, as well as a 58% reduction in the number of cases of severe rotavirus disease requiring intravenous (IV) fluids [14]. To make the decision to introduce new and relatively expensive vaccines, policy makers will benefit from reliable estimates of the costs and outcomes that might be attained through routine immunization. The best available estimates are typically based on a combination of regularly updated information on epidemiological burden, vaccine efficacy, immunization delivery, effectiveness, vaccine demand, price, and economic burden.