The estimated burden of 15 vaccine-preventable diseases from 2008 to 2020 in Japan: A transition by the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: Evaluating the national burdens across multiple vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) can be informative to identify the areas for improvements in the national immunization program. METHODS: The annual burden of diseases from 2008 to 2020 in Japan were calculated with the incidence- and pathogen-based approach for the 15 VPDs (hepatitis B virus infection, human papillomavirus (HPV), influenza, invasive pneumococcal disease, invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) disease, invasive meningococcal disease, Japanese encephalitis, measles, mumps, pertussis, rotavirus, rubella, tetanus, tuberculosis and varicella), using disability-adjusted life year (DALY). RESULTS: The average annual burden between 2008 and 2020 is the highest in influenza (114,129 DALY/year), followed by HPV infection, hepatitis B virus infection, tuberculosis and mumps (109,782, 69,883, 23,855 and 5693 DALY/year). In the pre-COVID-19 period (2008–2019), the decreasing trend of burden was observed in hepatitis B virus infection, invasive pneumococcal disease, invasive Hib disease, tuberculosis and varicella. HPV infection is the only VPD which had more than 100,000 DALY/year for all years during the study period. In 2020, the estimated annual burdens are decreased in influenza (71%), invasive pneumococcal disease (51%), invasive Hib diseases (54%), invasive meningococcal disease (64%), measles (98%), mumps (47%) pertussis (83%), rotavirus infection (95%), rubella (94%) and varicella (35%) compared with those in 2019. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrated decreasing trends of burdens for some VPDs, while a persistently high burden has been observed for other VPDs, including HPV infection. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused dramatic reductions in the burdens of many VPDs in 2020.