Impact of rotavirus vaccination on diarrhoea mortality and hospital admissions in Brazil.

Objective: To analyse the data reported by the national surveillance system of Brazil, including data on diarrhoea mortality and hospital admissions before and after rotavirus vaccine introduction, and evaluate the impact of its widespread use under operational conditions.

Method: Retrospective analysis of routinely collected data was reported by several surveillance systems of Brazil, comprising an 8-year period of all diarrhoea-related hospitalisations and deaths in children <5 years old (2002-2009). Linear regressions were used to compare trends of diarrhoea hospitalisations and deaths before and after vaccine introduction (2002-2005 vs.