Effectiveness of pentavalent and monovalent rotavirus vaccines in concurrent use among US children <5 years of age, 2009-2011

BACKGROUND

We assessed vaccine effectiveness (VE) for RotaTeq (RV5; 3 doses) and Rotarix (RV1; 2 doses) at reducing rotavirus acute gastroenteritis (AGE) inpatient and emergency department (ED) visits in US children.

METHODS

We enrolled children <5 years of age hospitalized or visiting the ED with AGE symptoms from November 2009-June 2010 and from November 2010-June 2011 at 7 medical institutions. Fecal specimens were tested for rotavirus by enzyme immunoassay and genotyped. Vaccination among laboratory-confirmed rotavirus cases was compared with rotavirus-negative AGE controls. Regression models calculated VE estimates for each vaccine, age, ethnicity, genotype, and clinical setting.

RESULTS

RV5-specific analyses included 359 rotavirus cases and 1811 rotavirus-negative AGE controls. RV1-specific analyses included 60 rotavirus cases and 155 rotavirus-negative AGE controls. RV5 and RV1 were 84% (95% confidence interval [CI], 78%-88%) and 70% (95% CI, 39%-86%) effective, respectively, against rotavirus-associated ED visits and hospitalizations combined. By clinical setting, RV5 VE against ED and inpatient rotavirus-associated visits was 81% (95% CI, 70%-84%) and 86% (95% CI, 74%-91%), respectively. RV1 was 78% (95% CI, 46%-91%) effective against ED rotavirus disease; study power was insufficient to evaluate inpatient RV1 VE. No waning of immunity was evident during the first 4 years of life for RV5, nor during the first 2 years of life for RV1. RV5 provided genotype-specific protection against each of the predominant strains (G1P[8], G2P[4], G3P[8], G12P[8]), while RV1 VE was statistically significant for the most common genotype, G3P[8].

CONCLUSIONS

Both RV5 and RV1 significantly protected against medically attended rotavirus gastroenteritis in this real-world assessment.

Symptomatic infection and detection of vaccine and vaccine-reassortant rotavirus strains in 5 children: a case series

Vaccine or vaccine-reassortant rotavirus strains were detected in fecal specimens from 5 of 106 (4.7%) immunocompetent children who required treatment for rotavirus gastroenteritis at a large pediatric hospital in Texas in 2009-2010. Four strains were related to pentavalent rotavirus vaccine, whereas one was related to monovalent rotavirus vaccine. The contribution of these strains to each patient's illness was unclear given that 2 patients had prominent respiratory symptoms and 2 were concurrently infected with another pathogen (group F adenovirus and norovirus). Continued monitoring is necessary to assess the role of vaccine strains and vaccine-reassortant strains in pediatric rotavirus infections.

Effectiveness of pentavalent rotavirus vaccine in a large urban population in the United States

OBJECTIVE

The goal was to assess the effectiveness of complete (3-dose) or partial (1- or 2-dose) immunization with pentavalent rotavirus vaccine (RV5) against rotavirus acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in US clinical practice.

METHODS

A case-control evaluation was conducted in February through June 2008 at an emergency department in Houston, Texas. Case patients with rotavirus AGE (N = 90) were identified through testing for rotavirus in fecal specimens obtained from 205 children 15 days through 23 months of age presenting with AGE. Control groups included rotavirus-negative AGE patients (N = 115), concurrently enrolled patients with acute respiratory infection (ARI) (N = 228), and up to 10 age- and zip code-matched children sampled from the Houston-Harris County Immunization Registry (HHCIR) for each case patient >8 months of age. Immunization data were obtained from parent records, health care providers, and/or the HHCIR. Vaccine effectiveness was calculated as 1 minus odds of RV5 vaccination for case patients versus control patients, after adjustment for age at presentation and birth date.

RESULTS

The vaccine effectiveness of a complete RV5 series was 89% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 70%-96%) and 85% (95% CI: 55%-95%) with rotavirus-negative AGE and ARI control patients, respectively. Immunization data were available for 44% of case patients (n = 40) from the HHCIR; the estimated 3-dose vaccine effectiveness with these HHCIR control patients was 82% (95% CI: 19%-96%). A complete RV5 series conferred 100% protection (95% CI: 71%-100%) against severe rotavirus disease requiring hospitalization and 96% protection (95% CI: 72%-99%) against disease requiring intravenous hydration. Vaccine effectiveness of 1 and 2 doses against hospitalization and emergency department visits was 69% (95% CI: 13%-89%) and 81% (95% CI: 13%-96%), respectively, using rotavirus-negative AGE and ARI control groups combined.

CONCLUSIONS

In this setting, a complete series of RV5 was highly effective against severe rotavirus AGE. Partial immunization also conferred substantial protection.