Vaccination Is the Best Defense Against Rotavirus

Manila Bulletin Online reports a conference in Manila about Rotavirus:

Nearly 500,000 children or roughly one child per minute dies every year worldwide because of rotavirus infection – a wheel-shaped virus that is a leading cause of severe vomiting, fever and watery diarrhea among infants and children, causing severe dehydration....At present, a new oral rotavirus vaccine is seen as the best defense against rotavirus gastroenteritis. It is a live attenuated vaccine developed from a single human strain designed to provide early protection before the onset of rotavirus illness as well as effective protection against multiple rotavirus strains. The new vaccine has shown up to 90 percent efficacy in protecting infants against severe infections.Although the vaccine is noted for being expensive (costing almost the same as the six-in-one vaccine shot), Dr. Bravo explained that parents shouldn’t take this as the biggest obstacle for getting the vaccine for their children."The rotavirus infection can lead to the hospitalization of children, which as we know, can rack-up thousands in bills. Letting children have this one shot vaccine can actually help parents save not just money, but their children’s lives as well," she said.