Rotavirus disease and vaccines

For in-depth resources on rotavirus disease and vaccines, please visit
PATH's Vaccine Resource Library.

Featured resources

Key facts about rotavirus disease and vaccines (2006)
PATH
Basic, essential information about rotavirus disease and vaccines against rotavirus.

New hope for defeating rotavirus (2006)
Glass R. Scientific American. April: 47-55.
This informative article by Dr. Roger Glass, a leading expert on rotavirus, outlines the landscape of new vaccines and their potential impact.

Prevention of rotavirus gastroenteritis among infants and children: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (2006)
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 55(RR-12).
This report provides background on the development of RotaTeq®, Merck's vaccine against rotavirus, and recommendations for its use in the prevention of rotavirus through immunization.

Rotavirus and severe childhood diarrhea (2006)
Parashar U, Gibson C, Bresee J, Glass R. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 12(2):13-17.
Study authors reviewed literature on hospitalizations related to severe diarrhea and rotavirus and found that, while diarrheal disease incidence has reduced in recent years, due in part to improved hygiene practices, incidence of rotavirus infection has continued to increase.

Rotavirus Vaccine Program
This collaboration between PATH, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) aims to accelerate the availability of rotavirus vaccines in the developing world.

Safety and efficacy of an attenuated vaccine against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis (2006)
Ruiz-Palacios G, Pérez-Schael I, Velázquez F, et al. New England Journal of Medicine. 354(1):11-22.
This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of GSK’s rotavirus vaccine (Rotarix®), with a focus on determining risk of intussusception.

Safety and efficacy of a pentavalent human–bovine (WC3) reassortant rotavirus vaccine (2006)
Vesikari T, Matson D, Dennehy P, et al. New England Journal of Medicine. 354(1):23-33.
This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of Merck’s rotavirus vaccine (RotaTeq®), with a focus on determining risk of intussusception.

General information

Anticipating new vaccines in the Americas (2004)
Andrus, et al. Pan American Journal of Public Health. 16(6):369-370.
This editorial supports accelerated rotavirus vaccine introduction and addresses related issues, such as health inequities, program sustainability, and vaccine affordability.

Cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccines (2005)
Walker D, Rheingans R. Expert Review Pharmacoeconomics Outcomes Research. 5(5):593-601.
This paper reviews economic evaluations of Rotarix® and RotaTeq® and offers suggestions for future analyses of cost-effectiveness.

Overview of RotaTeq® human-bovine reassortant rotavirus vaccine (2005)
Shaw A, Heaton P. Merck & Co., Inc.
This presentation reported on studies of the safety and efficacy of the RotaTeq® vaccine manufactured by Merck.

Proceedings of the Sixth International Rotavirus Symposium (2005)
The Albert B. Sabin Vaccine Institute
An overview of the symposium’s sessions, presentations, and discussions.

The promise of new rotavirus vaccines (2006)
Glass R, Parashar U. New England Journal of Medicine. 354(1)
This editorial summarizes findings from successful safety and efficacy studies of Rotarix® and RotaTeq® vaccines, while also emphasizing the need for clinical trials to evaluate the vaccines’ performance in developing country settings.

Rotarix® (2005)
De Vos B. Presented at: GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) R&D Day, London.
This presentation from the director of worldwide medical affairs at GSK offers a profile of Rotarix® and outlines its potential value.

RotaShield® vaccine and intussusception Q&A
CDC
Answers to common questions about RotaShield®, an earlier vaccine against rotavirus, and the decision of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to no longer recommend it for use.

Rotavirus fact sheet (2005)
CDC
General information about rotavirus disease.

Rotavirus: Questions and answers (2006)
PATH
Expanded information on rotavirus incidence and interventions, including vaccines.

Rotavirus Vaccine Information Statement (2006)
CDC
Basic information on rotavirus vaccines and their addition to the US routine immunization schedule.

Treatment guidelines

Acute intussusception in infants and children. Incidence, clinical presentation and management: A global perspective (2002)
World Health Organization (WHO) Department of Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals
This report from the WHO estimates global incidence of acute intussusception in developing countries, the condition’s clinical presentation, and trends in clinical management.

Draft recommendations for pentavalent bovine-human rotavirus vaccine (2006)
CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Rotavirus Working Group
This presentation outlines recommendations of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for introduction of Merck's rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq®, into the routine US immunization schedule.

Generic protocols for (i) hospital-based surveillance to estimate the burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis in children and (ii) a community-based survey on utilization of health care services for gastroenteritis in children (2002)
WHO Department of Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals
WHO developed this guide for use in country activities aimed at collecting data on local rotavirus disease burden.

Rotarix® international data sheet (2004)
GSK
This informational sheet contains prescription information for administration of Rotarix® in Latin American countries, among others.

RotaTeq® package insert (2006)
Merck & Co., Inc.
This document provides information on and directions for administration of Merck’s rotavirus vaccine.

Research

Epidemiology of rotavirus diarrhoea in Africa: A review to assess the need for rotavirus immunization (1998)
Cunliffe NA, Kilgore PE, Bresee JS, et al. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 76(5):525-537.
This study reviewed the epidemiology and disease burden of rotavirus diarrhea among children at hospitals and clinics in African countries. The long-term review was conducted from 1975 to 1992.

The epidemiology of rotavirus diarrhea in Latin America: Anticipating new vaccines (2004)
Kane E, Turcios R, Arvay M, et al. Pan American Journal of Public Health. 16(6):371-377.
This paper outlines a literature review performed to assess the disease burden and epidemiology of rotavirus diarrhea in Latin America.

Evaluation of anatomic changes in young children with natural rotavirus infection: is intussusception biologically plausible? (2004)
Robinson C, Hernanz-Schulman M, Zhu Y, et al. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 189:1382-1387.
This study explores the plausibility of intussusception caused by natural rotavirus infection.

Global illness and deaths caused by rotavirus disease in children (2003)
Parashar U, Hummelman E, Bresee J, et al. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 9(5).
This seminal paper estimates global incidence of rotavirus disease and related deaths, based on a review of studies published from 1986 – 2000.

Hospitalizations associated with rotavirus diarrhea in the United States, 1993 through 1995: Surveillance based on the new ICD-9-CM rotavirus-specific diagnostic code (1998)
Parashar U, Holman R, Clarke M, et al. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 177:13-17.
This study examined trends in rotavirus-associated hospitalizations among US children.

Postmarketing Monitoring of Intussusception After RotaTeq™ Vaccination - United States, February 1, 2006-February 15, 2007
This article from the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report summarizes the US CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices review of post-marketing safety surveillance data on RotaTeq®, the rotavirus vaccine by Merck and Co., Inc. The rate of reports of intussusception following RotaTeq® vaccination recorded through the CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System did not exceed expected background rates in the absence of vaccination.

Review of data from the REST and other Phase III studies of the pentavalent human-bovine reassortant rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq® (2006)
Heaton P
This presentation from the senior director of clinical research at Merck Research Laboratories presents data on safety and efficacy clinical trials of Merck’s rotavirus vaccine. Presented at the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting; Atlanta, GA.

Rotavirus disease in Uzbekistan: Cost-effectiveness of a new vaccine (2007)
Isakbaeva E, et al. Vaccine. 25(2):373-380.
Investigators estimated the costs related to rotavirus disease in Uzbekistan and determined that a vaccine would be cost-effective, while also drastically reducing hospitalizations and deaths.