Temporal decline in diarrhea episodes and mortality in Kiribati children two years following rotavirus vaccine introduction, despite high malnutrition rates: a retrospective review.

BACKGROUND: Kiribati introduced rotavirus vaccine in 2015. To estimate the impact of rotavirus vaccine on acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and severe acute malnutrition (SAM) among children under 5 in Kiribati, a retrospective review of inpatient and outpatient AGE and hospitalized SAM was undertaken. METHODS: Inpatient data for admissions and hospital deaths due to AGE, SAM and all-causes were collected for children under 5 from all hospitals on the main island, Tarawa, from January 2010-December 2013 (pre-rotavirus vaccine) and January 2016-September 2017 (post-rotavirus vaccine). National outpatient diarrhea data were collected from January 2010 to August 2017 for under 5. An interrupted time-series analysis was undertaken to estimate the effect of rotavirus vaccine on the rates of inpatient and outpatient AGE, inpatient SAM; and inpatient case fatality rates for AGE and SAM, were calculated pre- and post-rotavirus vaccine introduction. RESULTS: The incidence rate of AGE admissions from Tarawa and national AGE outpatient presentations significantly declined by 37 and 44%, respectively, 2 years following rotavirus vaccine introduction. There was a significant decline in the percentage of AGE contributing to all-cause under 5 admissions (12·8% vs. 7·2%, p < 0·001) and all-cause under-five mortality (15·9% vs. 5·7%, p = 0·006) pre- and post-rotavirus vaccine introduction. The estimated incidence rate of inpatient SAM decreased by 24% in under 5 s, 2 years following rotavirus vaccine introduction. CONCLUSIONS: AGE morbidity and mortality and hospitalized SAM rates have declined following rotavirus vaccine introduction in Kiribati children.

Improving hepatitis B birth dose coverage through village health volunteer training and pregnant women education.

Hepatitis B is highly endemic in the Republic of Kiribati, while the coverage of timely birth dose vaccination, the primary method shown to prevent mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus, was only 66% in 2014. Children born at home are especially at high risk, as they have limited access to timely birth dose (i.e. within 24 h) vaccination. To improve birth dose coverage, a project to improve linkages between village health volunteers and health workers and educate pregnant women on hepatitis B vaccination was carried out in 16 communities with low birth dose coverage in Kiribati from November 2014 to May 2015. After project completion, the coverage of timely birth dose administration increased significantly both in the densely populated capital region of South Tarawa (from 89% to 95%, p=0.001) and the Outer Islands (from 57% to 83%, p<0.001). The coverage of timely birth dose administration among infants born at home increased significantly from 70% to 84% in South Tarawa (p=0.001) and from 49% to 75% in the Outer Islands (p<0.001). Timely birth dose was associated with being born in a hospital, being born during the study period and caregivers having developed an antenatal birth dose plan. The project demonstrates a successful model for improving hepatitis B vaccine birth dose coverage that could be adopted in other areas in Kiribati as well as other similar settings.