Outbreak of rotavirus gastroenteritis with high mortality, Nicaragua, 2005

Abstract

The impact of the seasonal outbreaks of rotavirus disease could be diminished with a rotavirus vaccine, improvements in oral rehydration programs, and training of traditional healers in the proper management of children with acute diarrhea.

Risk Factors and Case Management of Acute Diarrhoea in North Gondar Zone, Ethiopia

“…Although we did not test the water sources for faecal contamination, sharing the water source with more households may create opportunities to contaminate the water source and could explain the higher risk of acute diarrhoea. In Nicaragua, Amador et al found that sharing water source with neighbours tripled the risk that children died of diarrhoea (26). Interestingly, households in our study that shared water with 6-10 households had a higher risk of acute diarrhoea than households that shared water with more than 10 households.…”

Evaluating the health impact of a public-private partnership

“…In 2005, an outbreak of RGE in Nicaragua led to 47,470 consultations and 52 childhood deaths. 10 A subsequent case-control study suggested that half of the severe RGE cases and more than two-thirds of diarrheal deaths could have been prevented with a rotavirus vaccine. These data highlighted the significant burden of rotavirus for the public policy makers in Nicaragua and demonstrated the potential impact of a national rotavirus vaccination program.…”

Uptake of Rotavirus Vaccine and National Trends of Acute Gastroenteritis among Children in Nicaragua

“…First, at the end of October 2006, a new rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq, was added to the national vaccination schedule. The decision to implement vaccination was driven, in part, by a large nationwide outbreak of rotavirus diarrhea in 2005 that led to an unexpected increase in diarrhea-associated mortality, hospitalizations, and outpatient visits and garnered substantial attention from decision makers and public health authorities in Nicaragua [10]. In 2006, the manufacturer provided the country with a 3-year supply of the vaccine, and Nicaragua became the first GAVI-eligible country to introduce rotavirus vaccine.…”

“…Vaccine coverage is presented as the percentage of coverage in the total population of children aged 0-11 months. The shaded area (from January through May) represents the annual rotavirus season in Nicaragua[10,14].…”