News
ICViewExpert PerspectivesMedical World NewsPathogen PlaybookVideosWebinars
Conference CoverageConference ListingAPIC Chapters
Infection Control TodaySupplements And Featured Publications
CME/CEEditorial Advisory BoardJob BoardPartnersSponsoredWhitepapers
Subscribe
Educator of the Year Official Rules2024 Educator of the Year Winner2023 Educator of the Year WinnerEducator of the Year
Advanced TechnologyAdvanced TechnologyAdvanced Technology
Bug of the Month
COVID-19
Environmental ServicesEnvironmental Services
HAIs
Hand Hygiene
IC Trends
Long-Term CareLong-Term Care
Operating Room
Personal Protective EquipmentPersonal Protective Equipment
Policy
PreventionPreventionPreventionPrevention
Sterile ProcessingSterile Processing
Surface Disinfection
Vascular Access
Spotlight -
  • IC Trends
  • Bug of the Month
  • Featured Articles
  • Featured Columns
  • Pathogen Playbook
Advanced TechnologyAdvanced TechnologyAdvanced Technology
Bug of the Month
COVID-19
Environmental ServicesEnvironmental Services
HAIs
Hand Hygiene
IC Trends
Long-Term CareLong-Term Care
Operating Room
Personal Protective EquipmentPersonal Protective Equipment
Policy
PreventionPreventionPreventionPrevention
Sterile ProcessingSterile Processing
Surface Disinfection
Vascular Access
    • News
    • Subscribe
Advertisement

Global Use of Rotavirus Vaccines Recommended

June 10, 2009
Article

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that rotavirus vaccination be included in all national immunization programs to provide protection against a virus that is responsible for more than 500 000 diarrheal deaths and 2 million hospitalizations every year among children. More than 85 percent of these deaths occur in developing countries in Africa and Asia. This new policy will help ensure access to rotavirus vaccines in the world’s poorest countries.

The new recommendation by WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) extends an earlier recommendation made in 2005 on vaccination in the Americas and Europe, where clinical trials had demonstrated safety and efficacy in populations with low and intermediate mortality. New data from clinical trials, which evaluated vaccine efficacy in countries with high child mortality, has led to the recommendation for global use of the vaccine. This is reported in the Weekly Epidemiological Record published June 5, 2009.

“This is a tremendous milestone in ensuring that vaccines against the most common cause of lethal diarrhea reach the children who need them most,” noted Dr. Thomas Cherian, coordinator of the Expanded Programme on Immunization in the WHO Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals.

“This WHO recommendation clears the way for vaccines that will protect children in the developing world from one of the most deadly diseases they face," said Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “We need to act now to deliver vaccines to children in Africa and Asia, where most rotavirus deaths occur.”

The GAVI Alliance, vaccine manufacturers, and the public health community made an unprecedented commitment to understand how these vaccines would work in developing-world conditions. The clinical trial, funded in part by GAVI and conducted by PATH, WHO, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and research institutions in high-mortality, low-socioeconomic settings of South Africa and Malawi, found that the vaccine significantly reduced severe diarrhea episodes due to rotavirus.

In 2006, the GAVI Alliance added rotavirus vaccines to its portfolio of vaccines for which it provides financial support to developing countries, underscoring GAVI’s commitment to reduce the traditional 15-year to 20-year lag between the introduction of new vaccines in developed countries and their availability in the developing world. WHO’s global recommendation now paves the way for low-income countries in Africa and Asia to apply to GAVI for introduction of rotavirus vaccines— just three years after new rotavirus vaccines became available in the United States of America, Europe and Latin America.

“The GAVI Alliance welcomes this exciting recommendation,” said GAVI CEO Dr. Julian Lob-Levyt. “It represents another important step in our ability to achieve significant impact on under-five deaths in the world’s poorest communities and make progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. We are extremely excited about the potential to offer African and Asian countries funding to introduce rotavirus vaccines.”

Because oral vaccines can have variable efficacy in different populations, it was important to demonstrate vaccine performance in high-mortality settings. The studies in Africa were conducted among populations with high infant and child mortality, poor sanitary conditions, high diarrheal disease mortality and high maternal HIV prevalence.

“The new evidence and the WHO recommendation are major breakthroughs for the health of our children,” said Dr Oyewale Tomori, vice-chancellor of Redeemer's University in Nigeria, who has served as Regional Laboratory Coordinator for WHO in the African Region. “Too many of our children are dying from rotavirus and other causes of diarrhea. We urgently need these lifesaving vaccines against rotavirus.”

The clinical trial investigators from Malawi and South Africa will present and publish their data on the GSK RotarixTM vaccine later this summer. Clinical trial sites in Bangladesh and Viet Nam -- along with sites in Ghana, Mali, and Kenya -- evaluated the performance of Merck’s rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq®, and data are expected in the fall of 2009. While efficacy data from Asian countries are forthcoming, SAGE recommended rotavirus vaccines for all populations, including Asia, since available evidence indicates that efficacy data can be extrapolated to populations with similar mortality patterns regardless of geographic location.

Because there are many causes of diarrheal disease, SAGE emphasized the importance of providing rotavirus vaccination in the context of a comprehensive diarrheal disease control strategy, including improvement of water quality, hygiene, and sanitation; provision of oral rehydration solution and zinc supplements; and overall improved case management.

WHO, UNICEF and other GAVI partners are working together in a new accelerated and integrated approach to combat rotavirus diarrhea and pneumonia, the two biggest vaccine-preventable diseases which together account for more than 35 percent of all child deaths every year, the majority of which are in the developing world.

 

 

Recent Videos
Pathogen Playbook Presenter: Sharon Ward-Fore, BS, MS, MT(ASCP), CIC, FAPIC
Mark Wiencek, PhD
Rebecca Crapanzano-Sigafoos, DrPH, CIC, AL-CIP, FAPIC
The CDC’s updated hospital respiratory reporting requirement has added new layers of responsibility for infection preventionists. Karen Jones, MPH, RN, CIC, FAPIC, clinical program manager at Wolters Kluwer, breaks down what it means and how IPs can adapt.
Studying for the CIC using a digital tablet and computer (Adobe Stock 335828989 by NIKCOA)
Infection Control Today's Conversations with the HSPA President, Arlene Bush, CRCST, CER, CIS, SME, DSMD, CRMST
Infection Control Today's Conversations with the HSPA President, Arlene Bush, CRCST, CER, CIS, SME, DSMD, CRMST
Cheron Rojo, BS, FCS, CHL,  CER, CFER, CRCST
Matthias Tschoerner, Dr Sc
Standardizing Cleaning and Disinfection
Related Content

Hot Topics With Saskia v. Popescu, PhD, MPH, MA, CIC, FAPIC

Hot Topics for IPC on July 2, 2025

Saskia v. Popescu, PhD, MPH, MA, CIC, FAPIC
July 2nd 2025
Article

This Hot Topics for IPC covers the latest on ASPR, AMR, vaccines, and a study on AMR and livestock manure from Michigan State University.


The Clean Bite

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Dental Professionals: A Layered Defense

Sherrie Busby, EDDA, CDSO, CDIPC
July 1st 2025
Article

Dental infection control expert Sherrie Busby tackles PPE missteps, from chin-bra masks to cropped lab coats, reminding dental teams that proper protection is crucial, not optional.


Rebecca Battjes, MPH, CIC, FAPIC; Vidya Nankoosingh, MLT, CIC; and Peter Teska, MBA

Beyond the Surface: Rethinking Environmental Hygiene Validation at Exchange25

Tori Whitacre Martonicz
June 30th 2025
Article

Environmental hygiene is about more than just shiny surfaces. At Exchange25, infection prevention experts urged the field to look deeper, rethink blame, and validate cleaning efforts across the entire care environment, not just EVS tasks.


ACIP decides on vaccinations   (Adobe Stock 606491608 by N Lawrenson/peopleimages.com)

New ACIP Panel Backs Seasonal Flu, RSV Vaccinations, but Divisions Emerge Over Thimerosal and Infant Dosing

Richard Payerchin
June 27th 2025
Article

In its first major session under newly appointed leadership, the revamped Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to support flu and RSV vaccinations for the 2025–2026 season, but internal debate over vaccine preservatives, access equity, and risk assessment highlighted the ideological and scientific tensions now shaping federal vaccine policy.


US Department of Health and Human Services

A Controversial Reboot: New Vaccine Panel Faces Scrutiny, Support, and Sharp Divides

Richard Payerchin
June 26th 2025
Article

As the newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met for the first time under sweeping changes by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the national spotlight turned to the panel’s legitimacy, vaccine guidance, and whether science or ideology would steer public health policy in a polarized era.


Jill Holdsworth, CIC, FAPIC, NREMT, CRCST, CHL; and Katie Belski, BSHCA, CRCST, CHL, CIS, CER, At HSPA25

Getting Down and Dirty With PPE: Presentations at HSPA by Jill Holdsworth and Katie Belski

Betsy Donahue, MA
June 26th 2025
Article

In the heart of the hospital, decontamination technicians tackle one of health care’s dirtiest—and most vital—jobs. At HSPA 2025, 6 packed workshops led by experts Jill Holdsworth and Katie Belski spotlighted the crucial, often-overlooked art of PPE removal. The message was clear: proper doffing saves lives, starting with your own.

Related Content

Hot Topics With Saskia v. Popescu, PhD, MPH, MA, CIC, FAPIC

Hot Topics for IPC on July 2, 2025

Saskia v. Popescu, PhD, MPH, MA, CIC, FAPIC
July 2nd 2025
Article

This Hot Topics for IPC covers the latest on ASPR, AMR, vaccines, and a study on AMR and livestock manure from Michigan State University.


The Clean Bite

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Dental Professionals: A Layered Defense

Sherrie Busby, EDDA, CDSO, CDIPC
July 1st 2025
Article

Dental infection control expert Sherrie Busby tackles PPE missteps, from chin-bra masks to cropped lab coats, reminding dental teams that proper protection is crucial, not optional.


Rebecca Battjes, MPH, CIC, FAPIC; Vidya Nankoosingh, MLT, CIC; and Peter Teska, MBA

Beyond the Surface: Rethinking Environmental Hygiene Validation at Exchange25

Tori Whitacre Martonicz
June 30th 2025
Article

Environmental hygiene is about more than just shiny surfaces. At Exchange25, infection prevention experts urged the field to look deeper, rethink blame, and validate cleaning efforts across the entire care environment, not just EVS tasks.


ACIP decides on vaccinations   (Adobe Stock 606491608 by N Lawrenson/peopleimages.com)

New ACIP Panel Backs Seasonal Flu, RSV Vaccinations, but Divisions Emerge Over Thimerosal and Infant Dosing

Richard Payerchin
June 27th 2025
Article

In its first major session under newly appointed leadership, the revamped Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to support flu and RSV vaccinations for the 2025–2026 season, but internal debate over vaccine preservatives, access equity, and risk assessment highlighted the ideological and scientific tensions now shaping federal vaccine policy.


US Department of Health and Human Services

A Controversial Reboot: New Vaccine Panel Faces Scrutiny, Support, and Sharp Divides

Richard Payerchin
June 26th 2025
Article

As the newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met for the first time under sweeping changes by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the national spotlight turned to the panel’s legitimacy, vaccine guidance, and whether science or ideology would steer public health policy in a polarized era.


Jill Holdsworth, CIC, FAPIC, NREMT, CRCST, CHL; and Katie Belski, BSHCA, CRCST, CHL, CIS, CER, At HSPA25

Getting Down and Dirty With PPE: Presentations at HSPA by Jill Holdsworth and Katie Belski

Betsy Donahue, MA
June 26th 2025
Article

In the heart of the hospital, decontamination technicians tackle one of health care’s dirtiest—and most vital—jobs. At HSPA 2025, 6 packed workshops led by experts Jill Holdsworth and Katie Belski spotlighted the crucial, often-overlooked art of PPE removal. The message was clear: proper doffing saves lives, starting with your own.

Advertise
About Us
Editorial Board
Contact Us
Job Board
Terms and Conditions
Privacy
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Contact Info

2 Commerce Drive
Cranbury, NJ 08512

609-716-7777

© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.
Home
About Us
News