New data from Australia suggests that a rotavirus vaccine may prevent cases of type 1 diabetes. Scientists have suspected a link between rotaviruses and type 1 diabetes for some time. The vaccine was developed only two years ago, and now it appears to have an additional positive effect. According to Kristen P. Perrett and her colleagues at the University of Melbourne, since the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine in Australia, the rate of children with type 1 diabetes has remained constant or even decreased in some regions. This is significant because the number of children with this type of diabetes has been steadily increasing for 30 years.
The researchers report in the journal JAMA Pediatrics that the number of children under four years old with type 1 diabetes has decreased by 14 percent since the introduction of the vaccine. However, the number of cases among children between four and 14 years old has not changed. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease of the pancreas. Patients with this type of diabetes can produce very little or no insulin themselves. The reasons for this are still unclear, but recent research suggests that genetic factors and environmental influences play a decisive role. One of these environmental influences could be rotaviruses.
Young mice that were still being breastfed showed that the viruses damaged the pancreas. There is currently only evidence that the viruses also affect the human pancreas. Therefore, the vaccine should prevent some cases of diabetes in children – to be precise, apparently 14 percent. The researchers around Perrett have investigated this hypothesis with data from the Australian Institute of Health and Social Welfare. Their study results suggest that the vaccine actually protects against type 1 diabetes. Further investigations will now provide certainty.
In conclusion, the rotavirus vaccine may have an additional positive effect in preventing cases of type 1 diabetes. The researchers at the University of Melbourne have found that since the introduction of the vaccine in Australia, the rate of children with type 1 diabetes has remained constant or even decreased in some regions. The vaccine should prevent some cases of diabetes in children, and further investigations will provide certainty.
