Diseases and vaccines

Rotavirus

For more information on rotavirus disease and vaccines, visit our resource pages listed at the right of your screen to access documents on surveillance, vaccine research, vaccine cost-effectiveness, and other important topics.

In collaboration with the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, PATH is working to bring safe, effective, and affordable rotavirus vaccines to the developing world. To learn more, please visit the Rotavirus Vaccine Program website.

Rotavirus disease

  • Rotavirus (pronounced "row-tuh-virus") is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis in children worldwide.
  • Rotavirus is responsible for the deaths of an estimated 600,000 children each year, 80 percent of whom live in developing countries.
  • Rotavirus is found in all countries. Most children have had one or more rotavirus infections by the age of 5.
  • 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. Regardless of hygiene practices or access to clean water, nearly every child in the world will be infected with rotavirus before age 5. Vaccination is the only viable measure to prevent severe rotavirus illness.

Rotavirus vaccines

  • Studies of two new rotavirus vaccines recently demonstrated their safety and efficacy among children in middle- and high-income countries.
  • 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.

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