In the developing world, where treatment can be hard to access, diarrhea can be deadly. Prevention of diarrheal disease through immunization is a relatively new intervention, but is becoming an essential and lifesaving part of diarrhea control strategies. Vaccines against bacterial causes of diarrhea such as Shigella and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) are under development, and new vaccines against rotavirus are increasingly available in low-resource settings.
Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrheal disease in children worldwide and is responsible for the deaths of more than 450,0001 children each year, 85 percent of whom live in developing countries.2
Rotavirus disease cannot be treated with antibiotics or other drugs, and nearly every child in the world is at risk of rotavirus infection, regardless of hygiene practices or access to clean water. Vaccination offers the best hope for preventing severe rotavirus illness.
Currently, two vaccines against the disease are licensed for use, and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that rotavirus vaccines be introduced in all national immunization programs.3 These vaccines have the potential to save nearly 2.5 million lives over the next 20 years.4
PATH is working with partners including WHO, the GAVI Alliance, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to increase access to existing rotavirus vaccines and accelerate the development of other new diarrhea vaccines. To learn more, please visit PATH [7].
1Tate HE, Burton AH, Boschi-Pinto C, et al. 2008 estimate of worldwide rotavirus-associated mortality in children younger than 5 years before the introduction of universal rotavirus vaccination programmes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2011. (E-pub)
2WHO. Global networks for surveillance of rotavirus gastroenteritis, 2001–2008. Weekly Epidemiological Record. 2008;83(47):421–428.
3WHO. Meeting of the immunization Strategic Advisory Group of Experts, April 2009 – conclusions and recommendations. Weekly Epidemiological Record. 2009;84(23):213–236.
4Atherly D, Dreibelbis R, Parashar U, et al. Rotavirus vaccination: cost and impact on child mortality in the developing world. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2009;200(S1):S28-S38.