More about rotavirus

This page provides links to PATH's work on rotavirus and information about the disease and related vaccines.

On the PATH website

• Delivering available rotavirus vaccines to developing countries.
• Develop new vaccines against rotavirus.

Rotavirus disease

• Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrheal disease in children worldwide and is responsible for the deaths of more than 500,000 children each year, 85 percent of whom live in developing countries.
• Rotavirus is found in all countries. Regardless of hygiene practices or access to clean water, nearly every child in the world will be infected with rotavirus before age five.
• In young children, rotavirus disease is characterized by diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and severe dehydration. Death is caused by dehydration due to rotavirus infection, not by the virus itself.
• Rotavirus disease cannot be treated with antibiotics or other drugs. Vaccination offers the best hope for preventing severe rotavirus illness.

Rotavirus vaccines

• There are two currently licensed vaccines against rotavirus: Merck’s RotaTeq® and GlaxoSmithKline’s Rotarix®. Studies of these vaccines have demonstrated their safety and efficacy among children in middle- and high-income countries. Safety and efficacy trials are currently ongoing in Africa and Asia to determine their appropriateness for use in these populations.
• While current manufacturers play an important role in meeting the global demand for the existing vaccines, additional vaccine options and manufacturers, including those in the developing world, are critical to ensuring a sustainable supply of rotavirus vaccines. The new vaccines in development are also expected to protect children against the rotavirus strains most prevalent in Africa and Asia.
• Clinical trials have been launched, and additional studies are planned, to evaluate the impact of vaccines as a method for the prevention of severe rotavirus disease in developing countries. Results generated from these trials will help national governments make informed decisions about introducing the vaccines into the public sector.
• Enhancing diarrheal disease control through a combined prevention and treatment strategy—incorporating rotavirus vaccine; new, low-osmolarity formulations of oral rehydration solution; and zinc supplementation during diarrhea episodes—can rapidly and significantly reduce child mortality where diarrheal disease is a serious burden.

Related diseases

Diarrheal disease is the second leading cause of death in children in developing countries. There are many pathogens that contribute to morbidity and mortality from diarrheal disease, including rotavirus, the leading cause of diarrheal disease, and Shigella and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), the leading bacterial causes of diarrheal disease. Learn more about Shigella and ETEC.

References

• Parashar U, Gibson C, Bresee J, Glass R. Rotavirus and Severe Childhood Diarrhea.
• Parashar U, Hummelmann E, Bresee J, Miller M, Glass R. Global Illness and Deaths Caused by Rotavirus Disease in Children.
• Bryce J, Boschi-Pinto C, Shibuya K, Black R. WHO Estimates of the Causes of Death in Children.
• Cunliffe, NA, Bresee, JS, Hart, CA. Rotavirus Vaccines: Development, Current Issues and Future Prospects.
• World Health Organization. Strategic Advisory Group of Experts Recommendations: Rotavirus Vaccines.
• Ruiz-Palacios G, Pérez-Schael I, Velázquez, F, et al. Safety and Efficacy of an Attenuated Vaccine Against Severe Rotavirus Gastroenteritis.
• Vesikari T, Matson D, Dennehy P, et al. Safety and Efficacy of a Pentavalent Human-Bovine (WC3) Reassortant Rotavirus Vaccine.

Page last updated: August 2008.