Global efforts geared toward saving kids from rotavirus

Major health groups around the world agree that vaccination is the answer to the global burden caused by rotavirus, the leading cause of gastroenteritis (GE) or diarrhea among infants and young children up to five years old.

A continuing effort led by the World Health Organization (WHO) promotes rotavirus vaccination and education, beginning with healthcare providers to help control the disease.

Professor Ruth Bishop, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Laboratory for Research on Human Rotaviruses, maintains that the development of rotavirus vaccines through global initiatives will help save lives of thousands of children around the world.

For this to be successful, she says there has to be a concerted effort to educate healthcare providers on proper administration and the promotion of rotavirus vaccination, especially in developing countries.

Latest world estimates show that rotavirus causes more than 111 million episodes of GE among infants and over 440,000 deaths in children below five years old annually. Bishop first discovered rotavirus in 1973.

Aside from the WHO, other international health organizations endorsing rotavirus vaccination in the global setting are the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH).

Together, these two international organizations combine their expertise in developing a rotavirus vaccine that will benefit the poorest regions, especially Asia, through efficient data gathering, better training, vaccine trials, and rotavirus surveillance.

Another group spearheading the drive toward making safe and effective rotavirus vaccines available to Asia is the Asian Rotavirus Surveillance Network (ARSN).

It is a collaboration of a variety of institutions, health ministries, and scientists represented in 19 countries and regions throughout Asia, including the Philippines.

Working along the same advocacy is the Rotavirus Organization for Training and Advocacy in the Philippines (ROTAPhil), which is actively working on research and extensive educational campaign for the country’s medical community.

Although vaccines are now accessible, lack of knowledge of the disease may obstruct its availability to the people who need it most.

At present, a new two-dose oral rotavirus vaccine is available to the public. Manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine developed from a single human strain designed to protect against rotavirus illness and its clinical significant strains.

The new vaccine has shown up to 100 percent efficacy in protecting infants against very severe rotavirus gastroenteritis.

The public is encouraged to consult their physicians about how vaccination could help them protect their children against the disease.