Rotavirus vaccination leads to large decreases in health care costs, doctor visits
September 22, 2011 in Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
(Medical Xpress) -- Vaccinating infants against rotavirus has resulted in dramatic decreases in health care use and treatment costs for diarrhea-related illness in U.S. infants and young children, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study is published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"This is good news for parents and our health system overall," said Dr. Umesh Parashar, medical epidemiologist and team leader for the Viral Gastroenteritis Team in CDC's Division of Viral Diseases. "Rotavirus vaccine is one of the most effective ways to prevent severe diarrhea-related illness in young children and keep them healthy."
Rotavirus is a major cause of severe diarrhea in infants and young children in the United States. Before vaccines were introduced in 2006, rotavirus was responsible for about 400,000 visits to doctor's offices, 200,000 emergency room visits, 55,000 to 70,000 hospitalizations, and 20 to 60 deaths each year in children under 5 years old.
RotaTeq and Rotarix, the two U.S. licensed rotavirus vaccines, were 85 to 98 percent effective at preventing severe rotavirus disease in clinical trials in middle and high income countries, including the United States.
This new study used data from a large U.S. insurance database for 2001 to 2009 to assess rotavirus vaccine coverage and its impact on health care use and treatment costs for diarrhea-related illness in children under 5 years old. The study examined direct benefits to vaccinated children and indirect protective benefits to unvaccinated children. National declines in health care use and treatment costs were estimated by applying the declines seen in this study to children under 5 years old in the U.S. population.
By the end of 2008, 73 percent of children under 1 year of age, 64 percent of 1-year-olds, and 8 percent of 2- to-4-year-olds had received at least one dose of rotavirus vaccine. Rotavirus-related hospitalizations decreased substantially compared with pre-vaccine levels in children under 5 years old--75 percent decline for 2007-2008 and 60 percent decline for 2008-2009.
Vaccinated children had 44 to 58 percent fewer diarrhea-related hospitalizations and 37 to 48 percent fewer emergency room visits for diarrhea than unvaccinated children during the 2008 and 2009 rotavirus seasons (January to June). Even in unvaccinated children, there were substantial declines in health care use during the 2008 rotavirus season compared with pre-vaccine levels--showing indirect protective benefits.
The study estimated that about 65,000 hospitalizations of children under 5 years old from 2007 to 2009 were averted nationally with a health care cost savings of about $278 million.
"This study provides more evidence that vaccinating against rotavirus substantially reduces suffering and health care costs for this common childhood illness," said Dr. Mark Pallansch, director of CDC's Division of Viral Diseases. "As more children get vaccinated against rotavirus, we expect to see even greater reductions in disease among all age groups."
Provided by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-
Rotavirus vaccine greatly reduced gastroenteritis hospitalizations in children
Jun 24, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Rotavirus vaccination of infants also protects unvaccinated older children and adults
Aug 30, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study finds rotavirus vaccine greatly reduces hospitalizations for acute gastroenteritis in children
May 13, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Rotavirus vaccine cuts hospital visits for kids: study
Jan 20, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Rotavirus can spread beyond the intestine
Apr 17, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
Impossible to predict outcome in China's bird flu outbreak, WHO says
It is impossible to predict the evolution of China's human H7N9 bird flu outbreak as researchers are still trying to understand the source of human transmission, the head of the World Health Organisation said Monday.
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
1 hour ago |
not rated yet |
0
Computer model predicts when viruses become infectious
A new computer model could help scientists predict when a particular strain of avian influenza might become infectious from bird to human, according to a report to be published in the International Journal Data Mining an ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
1 hour ago |
not rated yet |
0
New study identifies risk factors for depression among COPD patients
Patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) typically suffer from depression more frequently than those without COPD, resulting in higher levels of disability and illness and increasing the overall ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
3 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Pharmaceutical advances offer new options for health outcomes
Research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) explores pharmaceutical advances for treating irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) and hepatitis C.
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
3 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Metabolic biomarkers can predict mortality in the ICU
A metabolic profile of intensive care unit (ICU) patients based on biomarkers of four metabolites can be used to accurately predict mortality, according to a new study.
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
3 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
First long-term study reveals link between childhood ADHD and obesity
A new study conducted by researchers at the Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center found men diagnosed as children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were twice as likely to be obese in a 33-year ...
New study finds blind people have the potential to use their 'inner bat' to locate objects
New research from the University of Southampton has shown that blind and visually impaired people have the potential to use echolocation, similar to that used by bats and dolphins, to determine the location of an object.
Breakup of physician, drug company relationship could improve health care, cut cost
A new report suggests that improved health care and significant reductions in drug costs might be attained by breaking up the age-old relationship between physicians and drug company representatives who promote the newest, ...
Germ-fighting vaccine system makes great strides in delivery
A novel vaccine study from South Dakota State University (SDSU) will headline the groundbreaking research that will be unveiled at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists' (AAPS) National Biotechnology Conference ...
Diabetes drug tested in Parkinson's disease patients
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a degenerative neurological disorder marked by a progressive loss of motor control. Despite intensive research, there are currently no approved therapies that have been demonstrated to alter the ...
Which women should be screened for high cholesterol?
National guidelines recommend that at-risk women be screened for elevated cholesterol levels to reduce their chances of developing cardiovascular disease. But who is 'at risk?' The results of a study by investigators ...