Rotavirus vaccine

Abstract

Rotavirus gastroenteritis is one of the most important diseases in young children. There are 400,000 to 600,000 deaths annually among children under 5 years old in the world, especially in developing countries. Rotavirus vaccine has been developed since 1980s. However vaccine development and trial took a long time before the commercial available. One reason is the genetic variability of rotavirus, there are more than 10 serotypes (G types) in group A rotavirus. Another reason is side reaction such as intussusception which was recognized at the time of development of RotaShield. At present, RotaTeq (5 valent recombinant vaccine) and Rotarix (monovalent human strain vaccine) are evaluated for vaccine efficacy in several countries. These two vaccines are in field study, licensed or soled in different countries. Thus for, these vaccines have not licensed in Japan but it will be used in near future.