Penfold Matthew D, Prabhakar Sarah, Susi Apryl, Rajnik Michael, Nylund Cade M, Eberly Matthew D
Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD 20817, USA.
Vaccines (Basel). 2025 May 2;13(5):492. doi: 10.3390/vaccines13050492.
Rotavirus gastroenteritis is a vaccine-preventable disease that leads to hospitalization in children less than 5 years of age. Immunizations to prevent rotavirus have greatly altered the epidemiology of significant diarrheal illness. It has been reported that routine immunization rates in children were impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contrary to this fact, rates of many childhood illnesses also decreased. The Military Health System Data Repository (MDR) contains the health records of all military beneficiaries. We queried the MDR before and during the COVID-19 pandemic to assess for alterations in immunization rates and hospitalization rates and to assess for risk factors for significant (hospitalizations) rotavirus disease. Our study included a cohort of 1.27 million children under the age of 5 years old. There were 186 unique cases of rotavirus-related hospitalizations over the 5-year study period. During COVID-19 Years 1 and 2, there was a decrease in rotavirus-related hospitalizations compared to the pre-pandemic period. During Year 3, there was a return to the pre-pandemic level of rotavirus hospitalization rates. Patients in the northern United States were less likely to be hospitalized from rotavirus when compared to those in the south. The patients at greatest risk were the youngest beneficiaries. Rotavirus vaccination rates declined in this age group during all three years of the pandemic. As the pandemic resulted in less frequent rotavirus immunizations in the Military Health System (MHS), there was not an increase in rotavirus-related hospitalizations above the pre-pandemic baseline.
轮状病毒肠胃炎是一种可用疫苗预防的疾病，会导致5岁以下儿童住院。预防轮状病毒的免疫接种极大地改变了严重腹泻疾病的流行病学情况。据报道，在新冠疫情期间，儿童的常规免疫接种率受到了影响。与此事实相反的是，许多儿童疾病的发病率也有所下降。军事卫生系统数据存储库（MDR）包含所有军事受益人的健康记录。我们在新冠疫情之前和期间查询了MDR，以评估免疫接种率和住院率的变化，并评估严重（住院）轮状病毒疾病的风险因素。我们的研究纳入了127万名5岁以下儿童。在为期5年的研究期间，共有186例与轮状病毒相关的独特住院病例。在新冠疫情的第1年和第2年，与疫情前相比，与轮状病毒相关的住院病例有所减少。在第3年，轮状病毒住院率恢复到了疫情前的水平。与美国南部的患者相比，美国北部的患者因轮状病毒住院的可能性较小。风险最大的患者是最年幼的受益人。在疫情的所有三年中，这个年龄组的轮状病毒疫苗接种率都有所下降。由于疫情导致军事卫生系统（MHS）中轮状病毒免疫接种频率降低，与轮状病毒相关的住院病例并未超过疫情前的基线水平而增加。
