Intussusception and an Oral Rotavirus Vaccine

To the Editor: The report by Murphy et al. (Feb. 22 issue) 1 is misleading in stating that vaccination with the tetravalent rhesus–human reassortant rotavirus vaccine (RRV-TV) was associated with an increased risk of intussusception. The data show only temporal clustering of cases of intussusception after vaccination, not an increased incidence over time. Although it is possible that vaccination increased the incidence of intussusception, it is equally possible that it lowered the incidence, by preventing intussusception associated with natural rotavirus infection. 2 The difference is important, especially since the results of this study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention constituted . . .