New Delhi, May 3 (IANS) Administering the rotavirus vaccine to babies in the neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) is safe and does not cause any outbreaks of the disease, according to a new study.
Rotaviruses are majorly responsible for diarrhoeal disease among infants and young children. The vaccine, which contains a weakened form of the virus to produce a stronger immune response, is administered via drops.
Researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, US noted that preterm infants, usually kept in the NICU, are at higher risk of the highly contagious but preventable virus, yet few receive the vaccine over transmission fears.
To understand, the team conducted an analysis of 3,448 weekly stool samples from 774 patients between January 2021 and January 2022.
They found that “99.3 per cent of non-vaccinated patients exposed to vaccinated patients did not test positive for the disease. Non-vaccinated patients that contracted rotavirus had no symptoms after 14 days.”
“Our yearlong, prospective study done in collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that the benefits of vaccinating NICU patients against rotavirus outweigh the risks,” said Kathleen Gibbs, MD, the study’s lead neonatologist from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
“In-patient vaccination allows protection of a vulnerable population against a common, preventable cause of severe diarrhoeal illness,” she added.
The findings are important because many NICUs avoid vaccinating against rotavirus due to a theoretical risk of transmission, yet some infants are too old to receive the vaccine once discharged from the NICU.
According to the CDC guidelines, the first dose must be administered before 15 weeks of age.
The study findings will be presented at the ongoing Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) 2024 Meeting, being held in Toronto, Canada.
–IANS
rvt/kvd
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
