Vaccine could save thousands of children in Africa

Health experts in Africa are calling for all children to be vaccinated against a diarrhoeal disease that kills more than half a million children each year and puts millions more in hospital.Rotavirus, the most common cause of severe diarrhoea, causes much suffering in Africa, where parents struggle, often in vain, to protect their children from this devastating disease.But now rotavirus vaccines could soon become accessible to all children across the continent after The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently approved their use and recommended them to be included in national immunization programmes worldwide.

Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe diarrhoea and dehydration in children, with some 527,000 deaths of under-fives per year – 85 percent of them in Africa and Asia, according to the WHO.Two rotavirus vaccines have been shown to be effective after some of the largest clinical trials ever, involving more than100,000 children all over the world. And the recent WHO recommendation means that African countries can buy the vaccine at low cost in partnership with UN agencies and international donors.“There are vaccines that are very effective and can radically reduce mortality and morbidity from rotavirus infection,” George Armah, professor and rotavirus expert at Ghana’s Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, told United Nations news service, IRIN. “The evidence is clear and must be used to push policymakers to act,” he added.

Health officials in Africa are still learning about rotavirus, said Prof Armah. He said the key to preventing the disease is making health workers understand the toll rotavirus takes and the importance of vaccination.“It’s largely a question of ignorance. I’ve been to meetings where ministers have said, ‘We do not have a rotavirus problem in our country.’ But then we show them evidence and say, ‘Yes, there is a problem’.”Although the disease can be treated with rehydration, in West Africa, for many people in rural areas who cannot easily access medical care, vaccination is the most effective way to avoid severe cases and deaths. “The main problem is that despite this simple treatment many children in West Africa continue to die of the illness,” Prof Armah said. “It is heartbreaking for a mother to lose a child when a preventive intervention such as a rotavirus vaccine is available. If given the opportunity to vaccinate their children against rotavirus, mothers would definitely take it. By 2025 the vaccine could prevent 100 million hospital stays and 2.5 million deaths worldwide, Prof Armah estimates.

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children