Recent advances in development of a rotavirus vaccine for prevention of severe diarrheal illness of infants and young children.

Abstract

Diarrheal diseases are an important cause of morbidity in infants and young children in developed countries and a major cause of both morbidity and mortality in this same age group in developing countriesl. The toll from diarrheal diseases in the developing countries is enormous. For example, it is estimated that in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, 3–5 billion cases of diarrhea and 5–10 million diarrhea-associated deaths occur each year2. In addition, diarrhea was ranked first among infectious diseases with regard to the number of episodes and the number of deaths in these areas of the world.