Understanding rotavirus dynamics in response to vaccination
The recent introduction of rotavirus vaccines into the national immunization schedules of the United States and other countries has led to substantial reductions in the incidence of severe diarrhea in children. However, there is concern over whether indirect protection evident in high-income countries in the short term will extend to low-income countries and to the long term, and whether the selective pressures imposed by vaccines will lead to the emergence of non-vaccine-type strains. Using data-driven models for the transmission dynamics of rotavirus, we generate predictions about rotavirus dynamics in response to vaccination by relating individual-level protection offered by vaccines to population-level effects. I will discuss how models were able to predict the post-vaccination emergence of a biennial pattern of epidemics in the US, why rotavirus genotypes tend to cycle, and possible explanations for the lower vaccine effectiveness observed in countries such as Malawi.
Date: 30 October 2019, 12:00
Venue: Biology Mansfield Road, 11a Mansfield Road OX1 3SZ
Venue Details: Seminar room
Speaker: Virgina Pitzer (Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases) Yale School of Public Health)
Organiser: Suki Kenth (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: suki.kenth@ndm.ox.ac.uk
Host: Dr Moritz Kraemer (Department of Zoology, University of Oxford)
Part of: Peter Medawar Building Seminars
Booking required?: Not required
Cost: FREE
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Suki Kenth