Effects of rotavirus vaccine on all-cause acute gastroenteritis and rotavirus hospitalizations in Israel: A nationwide analysis

Khitam Muhsen*, Ziona Haklai, Yael Applbaum, Ethel Sherry Gordon, Ada Shteiman, Aharona Glatman-Freedman, Eyal Leshem

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: In December 2010, the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine (RotaTeq) was added to the national immunization program in Israel. The study aim was to examine national reductions in all-cause acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) hospitalizations among children aged 0–59 months following the introduction of universal rotavirus immunization in Israel. Methods: We extracted data from the Israel National Hospital Discharge Database. Hospitalization rates were calculated by dividing the annual number of all-cause AGE and RVGE hospitalizations by the number of children aged 0–59 months residing Israel. To assess rate reductions, we compared the mean hospitalization rate for the pre-vaccine years (2002–2008) with that for the universal vaccination years (2011–2017). Interrupted time-series analyses were undertaken. During 2008–2010 rotavirus vaccines were partially available. Results: A total of 131,116 AGE hospitalizations were reported, of which 13,111 (10.0%) were coded as RVGE hospitalizations. The average annual all-cause AGE hospitalization rate during the pre-vaccine period was 147.9 (95% CI 146.7–149.0) per 10,000 children aged 0–59 months, and declined by 38.7–53.0% during the universal vaccination years. The average annual pre-vaccine RVGE hospitalization rate was 16.9 (95% CI 16.5–17.3) per 10,000 children, and declined by 89.1% during 2016–2017. Findings from interrupted time-series analyses showed significant impact of introducing universal rotavirus immunization on the declines of all-cause AGE and RVGE hospitalizations rates. A multivariable Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average model showed that the variable “immunization period” was a significant predictor of RVGE hospitalizations (t = 7.3, p < 0.001) for the universal vaccination years. The declines in hospitalizations rates of all-cause AGE were lower among Arab children compared to Jewish children, but the declines in RVGE rates were similar between the groups. Conclusions: National hospitalization data demonstrated substantial and consistent reductions in all-cause AGE and RVGE hospitalizations following the implementation of universal rotavirus vaccination program.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2406-2415
Number of pages10
JournalVaccine
Volume38
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - 28 Feb 2020

Funding

FundersFunder number
Israel Ministry of Health
Tel Aviv University

    Keywords

    • Acute gastroenteritis
    • Hospitalizations
    • Impact
    • Israel
    • Rotavirus vaccines

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