Drop in Infant Type 1 Diabetes Linked to Rotavirus Vaccination

Results from an observational study find that the introduction of a routine vaccine in Australia coincided with a fall in the incidence of the autoimmune condition.

Written byCatherine Offord

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ABOVE: Rotavirus and type 1 diabetes may trigger immune system responses that attack insulin-producing cells in the pancreas in similar ways.
© ISTOCK.COM, JOSE LUIS CALVO MARTIN & JOSE ENRIQUE GARCIA-MAURIÑO MUZQUIZ

A recent decrease in the incidence of type 1 diabetes in Australian children may be linked to the introduction of a routine vaccine against rotavirus, according to a study published yesterday (January 22) in JAMA Pediatrics. Using observational data, researchers in Melbourne found that diabetes rates have been declining in infants since the vaccine’s launch in Australia in 2007—a finding that dovetails with previous research hinting that rotavirus infection is a risk factor for the autoimmune disorder.

“While not conclusive, our latest study suggests that preventing rotavirus infection in Australian infants by vaccination may also reduce their risk of type 1 diabetes,” study coauthor Len Harrison of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute says in a statement.

The team ...

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Meet the Author

Catherine Offord
After undergraduate research with spiders at the University of Oxford and graduate research with ants at Princeton University, Catherine left arthropods and academia to become a science journalist. She has worked in various guises at The Scientist since 2016. As Senior Editor, she wrote articles for the online and print publications, and edited the magazine’s Notebook, Careers, and Bio Business sections. She reports on subjects ranging from cellular and molecular biology to research misconduct and science policy. Find more of her work at her website.
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