The challenge
Diarrhoea was killing about 1,800 Mexican children under five every year (an annual median of 1,793 in 2003–2006).
The case
Mexico phased in a rotavirus vaccine for infants from February 2006 through May 2007; by December 2007 an estimated 74% of children aged 11 months or younger had received a dose. Researchers compared deaths from diarrhoea with the 2003–2006 baseline. In 2008 there were 1,118 diarrhoea-related deaths among children under 5, 675 fewer than the baseline annual median of 1,793. The death rate fell 35%, from 18.1 to 11.8 per 100,000 children, and 41% among infants. Deaths fell 29% among children aged 12–23 months, few of whom were old enough to have been vaccinated, and the reduction lasted through two rotavirus seasons.
Why it worked
Introducing a new vaccine quickly through an existing national programme saved hundreds of children's lives a year. The fall among children mostly too old to have been vaccinated suggests the vaccine may also have protected some unvaccinated children.
Sources
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