The number of rotavirus cases reported in England and Wales during the latest annual reporting season is just under half that of the previous four-season average. That is according to the latest incidence data on rotavirus published by Public Health England.
The number of laboratory reports of rotavirus in England and Wales as reported to Public Health England in the current season (week 27 2017 to week 21 2018) was 1,578. This is 55 per cent lower than the four-season average (post-vaccine) in England and Wales for the same period in the seasons 2013/14 to 2016/17 (3,523 cases).
However in the first season following the inclusion of the rotavirus vaccine in the NHS paediatric vaccination schedule in July 2013, a 77 per cent decline in laboratory-confirmed rotavirus infections in infants was observed.
The total number of laboratory-confirmed rotavirus infections in England and Wales each season has since remained low compared to the pre-vaccine period. In 2012, before the vaccine was introduced, there were 14,954 laboratory confirmed cases of rotavirus reported in England and Wales.
