Implementation of rotavirus surveillance and vaccine introduction — World Health Organization African Region, 2007–2016

Rotavirus is a leading cause of severe pediatric diarrhea globally, estimated to have caused 120,000 deaths among

children aged <5 years in sub-Saharan Africa in 2013 (1). In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended

rotavirus vaccination for all infants worldwide (2). Two rotavirus vaccines are currently licensed globally: the monovalent Rotarix vaccine (RV1, GlaxoSmithKline; 2-dose series) and the pentavalent RotaTeq vaccine (RV5, Merck; 3-dose series). This report describes progress of rotavirus vaccine introduction (3), coverage (using estimates from WHO

and the United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF]) (4), and impact on pediatric diarrhea hospitalizations in the WHO

African Region. By December 2016, 31 (66%) of 47 countries in the WHO African Region had introduced rotavirus vaccine, including 26 that introduced RV1 and five that introduced RV5. Among these countries, rotavirus vaccination coverage (completed series) was 77%, according to WHO/UNICEF population-weighted estimates. In 12 countries with surveillance data available before and after vaccine introduction, the proportion of pediatric diarrhea hospitalizations that were rotavirus-positive declined 33%, from 39% preintroduction to 26% following rotavirus vaccine introduction. These results support introduction of rotavirus vaccine in the remaining countries in the region and continuation of rotavirus surveillance to monitor impact.