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Background The rotavirus is the most frequent cause of severe diarrhoea in small children. The purpose of this study was to map emergency primary health care consultations due to gastroenteritis in small children before and after the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine on 1 October 2014. Material and method The material consists of data from all electronic reimbursement claims from emergency primary health care doctors in the period 2010-18. Quarterly consultation rates at the emergency primary health care units for children aged 0-4 years with gastroenteritis were calculated. The consultation rate ratio for the years 2015-18 was calculated by dividing the consultation rate by the corresponding mean for the years 2010-13. Results The consultation rate was highest in the first quarter of the year. In the years 2010-13 (prior to the introduction of the vaccine), infants had a mean consultation rate of 9.7 per 1000 inhabitants, one-year-olds 14.3 and two-year-olds 7.3. In 2016 (after the introduction of the vaccine), the consultation rate ratio in the first quarter was 0.5 for infants, 0.3 for one-year-olds and 0.4 for two-year-olds. In 2017 and 2018, the corresponding consultation rate ratio was 0.5 for infants, 0.4 for one-year-olds and 0.5 for two-year-olds. Three-year-olds and four-year-olds had lower consultation rates and fewer changes over time. Interpretation The strong decline in gastroenteritis-related consultation rates may be related to the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine as part of the Childhood Immunisation Programme. |
