Rotavirus vaccine can combat diarrhea, save millions of lives, say studies

In a breakthrough invention, scientists claim to have found the cure to the deadly rotavirus that kills millions of children with diarrhoea worldwide.

The study conducted at PATH, a non-profit organisation, revealed that immunizing infants against rotavirus could save two million children who die of diarrhea each year.

Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, lead author of the study and senior advisor for immunization at PATH, said, "A disease that may be a nuisance in the U.S. can be a killer in a poorer country."

Neuzil also added that, "Death from diarrheal disease in general is the second-leading cause of death among kids in developing nations."

Two studies conducted on effects of vaccine

Researchers conducted one study in Malawi, southeastern African country, and South Africa, where they divided 5,000 infants into three groups to deliver three different amounts of the vaccine.

One-third of the infants were given three doses, another one-third were given two measures and the remaining one-third were given a placebo--medicine given mainly for mental benefit than physical good.

The research team then visited these groups regularly for weeks and collected their stool samples to know of any rotavirus infections.

The team found that the children who were given either three or two dosages had 61 percent lesser tendency of developing rotavirus contagion.

The team also found that the efficacy of the vaccine in Malawi, which is a relatively poor country, was 49 percent, whereas this percentage in South Africa was a whopping 77.

Similar study was conducted in Mexico which revealed that diarrhea deaths in Mexican children less than 11 months of age had reduced to 66 percent after vaccination.

Statistics of 2003-2006 showed that around 1,793 Mexican children less than five years of age died of diarrhea-linked diseases each year. This number fell to 1,118 by the year 2008.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has proposed that children in developing nations be vaccinated against rotavirus, with the first dosage to be given between six and 15 weeks of age.

"Rotavirus vaccine is a very powerful tool to combat one of the leading causes of childhood deaths -- diarrhea," said Dr. Mathuram Santosham, professor of international health

and pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

"The challenge now is to make sure that every poor child in the world has access to this life-saving intervention," Santosham added.

Details of the study appear in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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