rotavirus vaccine

There are little data on the current condition of national immunization programme (NIP) in Libya. In 2013, pentavalent rotavirus vaccines were added to the NIP. Incomplete rotavirus vaccine series may result in lower vaccine effectiveness. The study aimed to assess timeliness and coverage rates of routine NIP vaccinations including the newly introduced rotavirus vaccine in Libya.

A prospective cross-sectional study of children aged 0 to 18 months was carried out in vaccination centers of two north-western cities. Data were collected during Nov-Dec 2016 from vaccination cards of children. Child age and doses received in previous visits were documented.

Overall, we included 1023 children assessed in 29 visits at six vaccination centers. In children aged 18 months, coverage rates for all doses of BCG, OPV, HepB, pneumococcal, Meningococcal and MMR vaccines exceeded 95%. Coverage rates for second and third doses of rotavirus vaccines were 89% and 68%, respectively. Most (75%) children who missed the third dose of rotavirus vaccine were aged >8 months when at the time of appointment for the third dose.

Overall, the coverage rate for routine vaccination in children assessed at immunization centers in northwest Libya was high. Lower coverage of full pentavalent rotavirus vaccine series may have been the result of exceeding the age restriction. Measures to improve timeliness of vaccination appointments should be assessed. Lifting the age restriction on rotavirus vaccines should be considered for at-risk population.

The aim of this study was to determine the baseline statistics of intussusception in the under-five- year age group in Iran to facilitate the monitoring of potential side effects after administration of rotavirus vaccine.

This hospital-based historical cohort study reviewed children under 60 months of age with the final diagnosis of intussusception, ICD-10 code K56.1, using census in all hospitals of Tehran, Iran from March 2010-2015. Demographic (sex, age, hospital stay duration), clinical manifestations (such as currant jelly stool, abdominal pain, vomiting, and fever),diagnostic and treatment methods (contrast enema, ultrasonography, laparotomy, and laparoscopy), and outcome data of patients aged less than 5 years with the diagnosis of intussusception were collected and analyzed using SPSS Version 16.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA)

In this study, 759 patients were diagnosed with intussusception; 309 (40.7%) cases were less than 12 months old. The annual incidence of intussusception was 66.54 cases per 100.000 in children less than one-year-old and 31.61 cases per 100.000 in children less than five years old. The most common symptoms and signs were abdominal pain/irritability (94.2%) and tenderness (24.2%), respectively. The diagnostic method was ultrasound in 75.9% of cases. The most frequent anatomic location was the ileocolic region (87.87%) and the most common treatment method was barium enema.

This research has provided a baseline statistic for childhood intussusception in Tehran prior to the administration of the rotavirus vaccine to provide a better comparison with post-introduction data.