Efficacy of Rotavirus Vaccine in Developing Countries

The efficacy of live pentavalent rotavirus vaccine against severe gastroenteritis in infants was 48% in Asian countries and 39% in African ones.

Every year, an estimated 425,000 infants in developing Asian and African countries die of rotavirus infections. In two multicenter, double-blind trials, researchers assessed the efficacy and safety of RotaTeq, an oral pentavalent rotavirus vaccine, in such countries. Both trials were partially funded by the vaccine maker.

Zaman and colleagues randomized 2036 infants in rural Bangladesh and urban and periurban Vietnam to receive three doses of vaccine or placebo at about 6, 10, and 14 weeks of age. The investigators did not test for HIV or exclude HIV-positive infants. Participants received other routine vaccines, including oral poliovirus vaccine. Median age was 21 months at study end.

In per-protocol analysis, vaccine efficacy against severe…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Efficacy of Rotavirus Vaccine in Developing Countries

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Reviewing Author