Does Vaccinating Against Rotavirus Also Protect Against Type 1 Diabetes?

The rotavirus vaccine may be pulling double duty; it not only protects young children against a potentially life-threatening rotavirus infection but may also reduce their likelihood of developing type 1 diabetes. A study published in JAMA Pediatrics in late January noted a decrease in the prevalence of type 1 diabetes in Australian children age 4 and younger after rotavirus vaccination was made routine in 2007. However, this association doesn’t prove that protecting against rotavirus causes protection against type 1 diabetes, nor does it suggest that rotavirus causes diabetes; it simply highlights an association between the two.
“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,” Leonard Harrison, professor in the Population Health and Immunity division of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and senior author of this study, said in a press release. “We will be continuing this research to look more closely at the correlation, by comparing the health records of young children with or without type 1 diabetes.”