Rotavirus vaccination for babies in the UK has had a big impact on the poorest communities, according to a new analysis.
The oral vaccine protects against infection with rotavirus, which is a common cause of diarrhoea and sickness. It has been given routinely since July 2013 as two doses with other routine vaccinations.
A team of researchers from the University of Liverpool, UK, examined the impact on socioeconomic deprivation, focusing on Merseyside. This showed that uptake of the first dose was 91.4% and the second dose was 86.7%.
After the vaccine was introduced, the rate of gastrointestinal disease among children below five years of age dropped across all outcomes: hospitalisation for confirmed rotavirus gastroenteritis, hospitalisation for acute gastroenteritis, emergency department attendance for gastrointestinal conditions, consultations for infectious gastroenteritis at community walk-in centres, and general practices.
In BMC Medicine, the authors report that the impact was greatest during the rotavirus season and for vaccine-eligible age groups, which include adults aged 65 years and above.
Before the vaccine was introduced, the risk of acute gastroenteritis hospitalisation was highest in the most socioeconomically deprived communities, they explain.
"The rate of acute gastroenteritis hospitalisations averted per 1,000 first doses of vaccine was higher among infants in the most deprived communities compared to the least deprived in 2014/15 and in 2015/16," they write.
Lead author, Dr Dan Hungerford, said: "In England a disproportionately high number of young children live in the most deprived communities. Therefore, if we prioritise vaccination in the most deprived populations the rotavirus vaccine is likely to give the greatest health benefit and can contribute to reducing health inequalities."
Hungerford, D. et al. Rotavirus vaccine impact and socioeconomic deprivation: an interrupted time-series analysis of gastrointestinal disease outcomes across primary and secondary care in the UK. BMC Medicine 29 January 2018 doi: 10.1186/s12916-017-0989-z [abstract]
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