Experts call for vaccine to fight severe diarrhea

By Tan Ee Lyn

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Pediatricians are urging governments in Asia to bolster national immunization programs with vaccines against the rotavirus, the most common cause of severe diarrhea in young children.

Rotavirus kills about 611,000 children worldwide a year, or a child every minute. Africa and Asia account for 90 percent of these deaths, with more than 180,000 occurring in Asia.

Experts said the high costs of rotavirus vaccines (US$50 for each of 3 doses) should not be an obstacle.

"In Mexico and Chile, they decided it would be cost effective (to have all children vaccinated against rotavirus) and data show a decrease in mortality and morbidity," said Usa Thisyakorn, president of the Pediatric Society in Thailand.

The World Health Organization said it recommended the inclusion of rotavirus vaccination into national immunization programs in places where its efficacy has been proven, but it gave a word of caution.

"To date, the clinical efficacy of rotavirus vaccines has been demonstrated mainly in the United States, Europe and Latin America. Experience with several other oral vaccines has demonstrated that in terms of vaccine safety and efficacy, considerable regional differences may exist," it said.

"Clinical trials are currently ongoing in Africa and Asia, where rotavirus disease burden is very high and where the need for more data on vaccine efficacy is particularly urgent."

The Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI) has funded the use of rotavirus vaccines in some countries in Europe and Latin America with a gross national income of under US$1,000 per capita.