Summary of effectiveness and impact of rotavirus vaccination with the oral pentavalent rotavirus vaccine A systematic review of the experience in industrialized countries

The pentavalent rotavirus (RV) vaccine RotaTeq (TM) has been available in industrialized countries since 2006. Several studies have been conducted to evaluate the benefit of RV vaccination under routine conditions of use. A systematic review of all publicly available data from RotaTeq (TM) vaccine-effectiveness and vaccination-impact studies in the USA, Europe and Australia between 2006 and February 2010 was undertaken. Depending on the population studied, effectiveness of up to 100% (95% confidence interval 85-100%) associated with decreased hospitalizations for RV gastroenteritis (RVGE) was seen. Vaccination-impact studies demonstrated that the burden of RV GE has been reduced significantly since the introduction of RV vaccination. Evidence included reductions in healthcare utilization due to RV GE (hospitalizations and emergency-department visits reduced by up to 90%), reductions in the magnitude and duration of the RV season as assessed by laboratory testing for RV, and the possible induction of herd immunity.