Rotavirus Outbreaks in the Postvaccine Era

Before the advent of rotavirus vaccination in 2006, this reovirus was the most common cause of severe childhood diarrhea in the U.S. The use of either of two effective vaccines has led to a marked reduction in this disease. However, the rate of these vaccinations has declined, so that only about three quarters of children receiving other childhood vaccines get the full three doses of rotavirus vaccine. Investigators have now chronicled three significant outbreaks of rotavirus illness in California in 2017, including one fatal case.

Outbreak 1 occurred in a child care center in Long Beach and resulted in 27 cases of acute gastroenteritis among children, of whom 22% had been at least partially vaccinated, and 4 cases among adult staff members.…