Risk for Intussusception After Rotavirus Vaccine, Revisited

The first rotavirus vaccine, a tetravalent rhesus–human reassortant vaccine (RotaShield), was withdrawn from the U.S. market in 1999 after postlicensure surveys revealed an increase in intussusception rates (1–2 additional cases per 10,000 vaccine recipients, highest following the first dose). In 2006 and 2008, two new rotavirus vaccines were introduced — a pentavalent bovine–human reassortant vaccine (RV5-RotaTeq) and a monovalent human rotavirus vaccine (RV1-Rotarix), respectively. A recent review of the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System detected a small increase in risk for intussusception (0.79 per 100,000 recipients) following RotaTeq administration. (NEJM JW Pediatr Adolesc Med Jun 5 2013). Two new studies confirm a slight increa…