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In April 2016, an indigenous monovalent rotavirus vaccine (Rotavac) was introduced to the National Immunization Program in India. Hospital-based surveillance for acute gastroenteritis was conducted in five sentinel sites from 2012 to 2020 to monitor the vaccine impact on various genotypes and the reduction in rotavirus positivity at each site. Stool samples collected from children under 5 years of age hospitalized with diarrhea were tested for group A rotavirus using a commercial enzyme immunoassay, and rotavirus strains were characterized by RT-PCR. The proportion of diarrhea hospitalizations attributable to rotavirus at the five sites declined from a range of 56–29.4% in pre-vaccine years to 34–12% in post-vaccine years. G1P[8] was the predominant strain in the pre-vaccination period, and G3P[8] was the most common in the post-vaccination period. Circulating patterns varied throughout the study period, and increased proportions of mixed genotypes were detected in the post-vaccination phase. Continuous long-term surveillance is essential to understand the diversity and immuno-epidemiological effects of rotavirus vaccination.

Hypertriglyceridemia is a rare but significant cause of pancreatitis in children. Hypertriglyceridemic pancreatitis is often correlated with more severity and complications like pancreatic necrosis. Therefore, proper management and prevention of further episodes is essential. The authors report a case of a child with hypertriglyceridemic pancreatitis who was managed with intravenous insulin. According to various case reports and case series, intravenous insulin has been found to be effective in hypertriglyceridemic pancreatitis in adults. Few case reports in children also have mentioned use of intravenous insulin in diabetic ketoacidosis with hypertriglyceridemia. The authors found intravenous insulin to be highly effective in management of pancreatitis due to severe hypertriglyceridemia in the present child.

Juvenile dermatomyositis is a rare systemic autoimmune disease wth calcinosis as its hallmark sequelae. We report three patients with juvenile dermatomyositis with calcinosis, who were treated with pamidronate. There was complete clearance of calcinosis in one child.

This postmarketing surveillance study of intussusception risk among infants in India who received the Indian-made oral rotavirus vaccine (Rotavac) did not show an increased risk of intussusception in any risk window after the receipt of any dose in either a self-controlled case-series analysis or a case–control analysis.

IntroductionRotavirus infection accounts for 39% of under-five diarrhoeal deaths globally and 22% of these deaths occur in India. Introduction of rotavirus vaccine in a national immunisation programme is considered to be the most effective intervention in preventing severe rotavirus disease. In 2016, India introduced an indigenous rotavirus vaccine (Rotavac) into the Universal Immunisation Programme in a phased manner. This paper describes the protocol for surveillance to monitor the performance of rotavirus vaccine following its introduction into the routine childhood immunisation programme.MethodsAn active surveillance system was established to identify acute gastroenteritis cases among children less than 5 years of age. For all children enrolled at sentinel sites, case reporting forms are completed and a copy of vaccination record and a stool specimen obtained. The forms and specimens are sent to the referral laboratory for data entry, analysis, testing and storage. Data from sentinel sites in states that have introduced rotavirus vaccine into their routine immunisation schedule will be used to determine rotavirus vaccine impact and effectiveness.Ethics and disseminationThe Institutional Review Board of Christian Medical College, Vellore, and all the site institutional ethics committees approved the project. Results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and with stakeholders of the universal immunisation programme in India.

ObjectiveTo study the epidemiology of intussusception in children < 2 y of age, postintroduction of Rotavac® (an indigenous oral rotavirus vaccine).MethodsA multicenter hospital-based surveillance was conducted in Odisha from February 2016 to June 2019. The cases were diagnosed according to Brighton level-1 criteria. Data were collected regarding the time of onset, signs and symptoms, radiological diagnosis, management, complications, and outcome (discharged/died).ResultsOne hundred and twenty children < 2 y of age were enrolled. The median age was 7 mo (M:F ratio = 2:1). The most common clinical feature was abdominal distention and blood in stool. The most common method for treatment was hydrostatic/pneumatic reduction. Median time (days) between symptom onset and admission was 2. Median (IQR) duration (days) of hospitalization was 5. Most common location of intussusceptions was ileo-colic.ConclusionsHydrostatic/pneumatic reduction was possible in the majority presenting ≤ 48 h of symptom onset, and those presenting > 48 h mostly required surgical reduction. Intestinal resection was required in some cases presenting on day 5 of symptom onset. Majority of cases were managed by surgical reduction in Government facility.

Background Enteric infections are hypothesized to be associated with intussusception in children. A small increase in intussusception following rotavirus vaccination has been seen in some settings. We conducted post-marketing surveillance for intussusception following rotavirus vaccine, Rotavac introduction in India and evaluated association of intussusception with enteric pathogens. Methods In a case-control study nested within a large sentinel hospital-based surveillance program in India, stool samples from 272 children aged less than 2 years admitted for intussusception and 272 age-, gender- and location-matched controls were evaluated with Taqman array card based molecular assays to detect enteric viruses, bacterial enteropathogens and parasites. Matched case-control analysis with conditional logistic regression evaluated association of enteropathogens with intussusception. Population attributable fractions (PAF) were calculated for enteropathogens significantly associated with intussusception. Results The most prevalent enteropathogens in cases and controls were enteroaggregative Escherichia coli , adenovirus 40/41, adenovirus C serotypes and enteroviruses. Children with intussusception were more likely to harbor adenovirus C serotypes (adjusted odds-ratio (aOR) = 1.74; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06–2.87) and enteroviruses (aOR = 1.77; 95% CI 1.05–2.97) than controls. Rotavirus was not associated with increased intussusception risk. Adenovirus C (PAF = 16.9%; 95% CI 4.7% − 27.6%) and enteroviruses (PAF = 14.7%; 95% CI 4.2% − 24.1%) had the highest population attributable fraction for intussusception. Conclusion Adenovirus C serotypes and enteroviruses were significantly associated with intussusception in Indian children. Rotavirus was not associated with risk of intussusception.

Background ROTAVAC, an indigenous rotavirus vaccine, was introduced in the universal immunization program of India in four states in 2016 and expanded to five more states in 2017. The clinical trial on efficacy of ROTAVAC did not detect an increased risk of intussusception, but the trial was not large enough to detect a small risk. This protocol paper describes the establishment and implementation of a surveillance system to monitor the safety of rotavirus vaccine and investigate the potential infectious etiologies of intussusception. Methods This is a multi-centric hospital-based active surveillance being conducted at 28 hospitals in nine states of India. Data gathered from surveillance will be used to assess the risk of intussusception after ROTAVAC administration and to determine the infectious etiologies of intussusception. For safety assessment of ROTAVAC vaccine, children aged less than two years with intussusception admitted at the sentinel hospitals are enrolled into surveillance, a case report form completed, and a copy of the vaccination card obtained. The risk of intussusception following rotavirus vaccination will be assessed using a self-controlled case-series design. The investigation for potential infectious etiologies of intussusception is through a matched case-control design. Children enrolled for the safety assessment serve as cases and for each case, an age, gender and location matched control is enrolled within 30 days of case enrollment. Stool specimens are obtained from cases and controls. All forms and specimens are sent to the referral laboratory for data entry, analysis, multiplexed molecular testing, and storage. Discussion Anticipated public health benefits of this surveillance include the generation of information useful to national government on safety of vaccine and to make future decisions on vaccine use through risk-benefit analysis. Investigating infectious agents may help to determine the potential infectious etiologies of intussusception.