Vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks in schools, part 2: pertussis, meningococcal disease, diphtheria, poliomyelitis, hepatitis A, and rotavirus infection
Vaccine·
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.128750
- PMID
- 42208275
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W7162536390
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The review frames schools as environments where vaccine-preventable diseases can spread and where outbreaks can disrupt normal activities. It also states that falling vaccination coverage may increase outbreak risk and that vaccination services, surveillance, and diagnostic capacity should be strengthened.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The article asks what the published literature shows about school outbreaks caused by selected vaccine-preventable diseases. It focuses on pertussis, meningococcal disease, diphtheria, poliomyelitis, hepatitis A, and rotavirus infection.
Study design
This is a literature review of 57 articles with original outbreak data, covering studies published from 2000 through June 2, 2025. The abstract does not describe a new primary-data study.
Population and setting
The setting is schools, with outbreaks occurring in classrooms and through school-related interactions. The abstract says the reported outbreaks were almost entirely from high-income and upper-middle-income countries.
Main findings
Pertussis accounted for the greatest number of outbreaks and the largest outbreaks by duration, case count, and attack rate. Rotavirus also produced substantial outbreaks, mainly in primary schools, while hepatitis A was often linked to water or food and to wider community outbreaks. Diphtheria and poliomyelitis were described as very uncommon, fatalities were reported only for meningococcal and diphtheria outbreaks, and school activities were sometimes interrupted.
Public-health relevance
The review frames schools as environments where vaccine-preventable diseases can spread and where outbreaks can disrupt normal activities. It also states that falling vaccination coverage may increase outbreak risk and that vaccination services, surveillance, and diagnostic capacity should be strengthened.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata; the full paper is needed for decision-grade interpretation. The abstract does not provide details on study selection, appraisal methods, or the underlying quality of the included reports.
GIDS interpretation
For discoverability and context, this article is a review of school outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases and is indexed under vaccination and several specific infections. It should be treated as literature context rather than evidence of a live surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 12 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.