Rotavirus Vaccine to be Introduced in Additional States
The Rotavac vaccine developed under the joint collaboration between India and the United States in the area of medical research was previously introduced in only four states, but now, the government, so as to boost the war against diarrhoeal diseases will be introducing the indigenously developed vaccine in four more states including Uttar Pradesh.
The three-dose ROTAVAC vaccine was developed under the public-private partnership (PPP) model that involved Union Ministry of Science and Technology, institutions of the US Government and NGOs in India supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Diarrhoea caused by Rotavirus is one of the leading causes of severe diarrhoea and death among children less than five years of age. In India, between 80,000 to one lakh children die due to Rotavirus diarrhoea annually while nearly 9 lakh children are admitted to hospital with severe diarrhoea. Another 32.7 lakh children visit the hospital as out patients due to the disease.
The Rotavac is in addition to three new vaccines that have been introduced in
India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) including Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV), Measles, Rubella (MR) vaccine, and Adult Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine.”It is estimated that every child in world will become infected with Rotavirus if we do not vaccinate them. Among the children who become infected, one in eight will need a outpatient visit to hospital, one in 30 to 50 would be hospitalized due to gastrointestinal infection and one in 1,000 would die because of Rotavirus”, says Dr. Gagandeep Kang, Executive Director of Translational Health Science and Technology Institute at Faridabad, on the outskirts of Delhi. Dr Kang was involved in the phase I to III trials of the vaccine.
Dr. Kang also expresses concern over the persisting problem of worm infestation in children. “Hookworm infestation may not kill. But, children get weakened by frequent diarrhoea episodes and they become vulnerable to malnutrition, stunting, and opportunistic infections such as pneumonia. We have to make toilets affordable and acceptable to the people.”
Having done field studies on the issue, she notes that people are not antagonistic to toilets and that the problem was with regard to how they were selected. “One size cannot fit all. The design of toilets for Rajasthan will not work for say a coastal area with high water table. Likewise, if faecal excrement floats around open sewerage, people are not going to accept toilets. Functional sewerage system is a must” she says.
